Design patterns used for etching vary in styles. One cool type of design is using decoration patterns such as the one shown in the photograph with glass sandblasting methods (link).
Even if it’s not artwork that you drew, the designs can produce elegant etchings with a complex flow of lines. I made a mistake cutting out the stencil so you can’t see all of its details that it originally had. Since the design was small and close together, the stencil didn’t cut perfectly, so I just took parts out and went from there.
For complex decoration designs like the one seen, it might be best to use a photoresist stencil (link). But if the complex design is used on a larger scale then you could obviously use a vinyl cutter without any problem.
I thought this was kind of neat because it was different. What I did was use a decorative drawing out of a stencil book and typed the persons name inside the open area. Then I added a floral design below that to add more flavor and style to the glass. There are stencils and clipart books out there that have plenty of decoration designs that look fairly artistic. I will be making a list of sources soon and let everyone know.
So what did you think? Do you have any comments, questions, or tips? Then leave them below.
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This looks easy & cool Thanks
Great job Eric! Amazing detail using vinyl resist. What mil resist, pressure, and abrasive did you use?
Looks great. I think I will have to make a trip to Walmart for beer glasses!!
Very nice! Makes me want to get started on my own project like this.
Thank you.
G, thanks. You really can do some fairly fine detail with a vinyl resist. The resist I used was only 3 mil with a pressure of 30-40 psi I believe, and a aluminum oxide grit at 180.
Some people think I am crazy for using such a thin resist, but it really does work as long as you grit is fine and most grit this fine is usually desired anyway. The finer the grit, the less likely your resist will tear up or the thinner your resist can be. Its just one of my inexpensive solutions that I talk about in the ebook because thicker vinyl (such as sandbmasks) costs a lot.
Shauna, I can’t remember who is was from another post, but a few people told me about Dollar Tree stores having the same thing for half Walmarts price. Thanks for those people! Great tips.
Hi Eric
I use thin sign films all the time because they conform to shaped objects better and , as long as you keep the pressure low with fine grit you can carve as deeply with little time penalty.
My trick is to have the gritflow quite high and move a little faster making multiple passes to achieve depth. In this way I still have enough resist integrity left for a colour fill. This even works for a 0.1mm depth on stainless steel.
Barry
I agree Barry. It does work nicely even for cheap sign vinyl. I do the same thing with the grit volume. What type of vinyl do you use?
Hi Eric
I mostly use metamark e series but if I have a complex shape or hard to stick to I will vary it. I run signmaking in addition to my etching and engraving business so I have lots of variety at my disposal. In that respect I am a lucky boy.
Hi Eric
If you have any patterns for bottle etching that would be good for Christmas I’d appreciate them. I make home-made chocke cherry wiskey and my daughter-in-law loves it, I would like to make a nice etched bottle to put it in.
Thanks again for everything Bob
Hi Bob, I don’t have any Christmas ones that I can give away because they are protected by copyright. But if I get a chance to making more, I will let everyone know. Thanks