DIY etched beer glass

I recently discovered a product called Armour Etch after reading another thread in this forum, in which somebody used it to etch a glass carboy. Intrigued, I thought, why not a tulip and some pint glasses?..

Nice job! How hard was it? How much did it cost?

The Armour Etch was about $8 for a 3 oz bottle. I actually made a few other glasses, but ended up giving them away. I still have over half the bottle left. It’s not really hard, just takes a little time. I drew up the patterns, traced them on contact paper, then used a razor knife to create my “stencil”. Brush the Armour Etch on, then wash it off after a few minutes…

Sweet thanks for the fast update. The sugar skull is really cool.

Is it food safe? Could you etch the inside to make nucleation sites?

http://www.etchworld.com/cms-display/faq.html

[quote]Q: Will the finished etched design be susceptible to food staining?
A: Glass is a non porous surface. So when you place food on a glass plate there is no need to be concerned about staining the plate. When a glass plate is etched, the areas of the etched design are now porous and foods that contain color (like spaghetti sauce) will most likely stain the plate. I always recommend that the bottom of plates be etched, especially when the plates are going to be used for food. If you are going to etch a plate for display only, then it does not matter which side you decorate. [/quote]

I would contact the manufacture for their thoughts if you are concerned. IMO, you are going to wash the glass before using. All the "chemicals’ will be washed away.

Those look great. :cheers:

In art class, junior high, we did glass etching on plate glass. We used contact paper and a gel acid. I don’t remember what acid, it’s been about 28 yrs.

For some reason, my pattern choice was a beer stein. Same choice when we did ceramics the next year. 8)

Excellent job. Great :idea:

Thanks for the post. I have many glasses of various types and labels, but to have custom home made glasses that look pro. I think so. Will try these out for sure in the future.

Here’s one I did tonight…

What did you use to make the stencils themselves? I picked up a bottle of Armour Etch, and in testing it on a scrap piece of glass, I could see the stuff soaking through regular paper and etching where you don’t want it.
I picked up at the same time a pack of stencil blank, figuring I can trace and cut out the patterns I want.

[quote=“jaygtr”]What did you use to make the stencils themselves? I picked up a bottle of Armour Etch, and in testing it on a scrap piece of glass, I could see the stuff soaking through regular paper and etching where you don’t want it.
I picked up at the same time a pack of stencil blank, figuring I can trace and cut out the patterns I want.[/quote]

Contact paper and an Xacto knife work great. Nice crisp lines.

Those are awesome looking, Great Job!

A sign-maker could make these stencils for you from your artwork. They have systems that are basically plotters with a razor knife in place of the pen, and can cut out anything you can draw (by hand or computer). Of course, just like a hand cut stencil, it has to be able to be cut w/o a ‘floating part’ (a circle in a circle would be left floating), everything needs to be connected somehow.

I have no idea what they would charge, but it’s all pretty automated, so maybe not so much? And you could do lots of variations in one shot. Set up would be about the same whether you had one design on a sheet, or multiples, so I don’t think price would be much different. I imagine cost is based on a set-up fee, plus total area of contact paper, and probably inches that the knife would travel. But that’s just an educated guess.

PS - They are awesome looking! Maybe I’ll ask for a kit like this for Christmas!

-ERD50

So I got married last weekend, and as gifts for the guys, and as toasting flutes for us, I did some etched glasses. It was actually pretty easy, using pre-made stencils.
I don’t have any pics of them on this computer - gonna have to wait till the photographer posts her shots - I think she got some.
It was fun though, and I want to do more. I was at Bed Bath and Beyond the other day and found some nice glasses (Speigelau!) on the clearance rack for a buck a pop. Figure they can be canvases for further experimentation.

I finally got around to etching some more glasses and a few pitchers with my logo on them.
[attachment=0]IMG_20140121_152003_089-1-copy.jpg[/attachment]

These are awesome. I would love it if someone could lay out the steps so my 4-year-old-like brain can absorb it. I have read that the acid can be hard to contain which means it will end up where you don’t want it (as mentioned above) so any help on the specific steps and tools/items necessary would be great. I have some glassware that was done by an etching place but it can be quite expensioso. Thanks & nice work!

Ken its super easy. My girlfriend owns a vinyl decal business and I had her cut a stencil of my logo on her vinyl cutter. But, if you know someone with a Cricket you can do the same thing. After that simply apply the Amour Etch cream with a brush and allow to set for 10 minutes. Then wash off with super hot water and peel of the stencil. Its that easy!
The cream is super thick and you have to literally paint it on. Shouldn’t be difficult to contain as long as it is applied within your stencil.

Wondering how well this would look on a brown beer bottle. Good alternative to labels on them, instead just put your logo.

Most chemicals that etch glass are extremely nasty, but they don’t stick around once you wash it. Other than the staining issue, it shouldn’t be a problem.