Author: Eric Robert

Often times people have problems with there photoresist stencil blowing off while sandblasting. This is a fairly common problem the arises. It doesn’t seem to happen as much with a regular vinyl stencil but does every once in awhile.

A fellow glass sandblaster, named John, emailed me about this problem and here is my response with a bullet list of rules and actions to consider.

1. Use a Finer Abrasive Grit: There could be a few things to consider, but the one that comes to mind is that the grit being used is too large. I personally use about 150 or 180 grit. I probably wouldn’t use anything larger in size than 100 grit (but my grit standards are set at least 120 and finer). Sometimes they don’t emphasis this enough, but the finer the grit is, the less blow off problems you will usually have and the thinner the vinyl stencil can be. I talked about that in the ebook a little bit also. Alot of times, I will actually do some sandcarving with a 3 mil vinyl with a fine grit. Works fairly nice. By the way here is some more steps to follow for glass sandcarving.
2. Ensure a Clean Surface: Another problem could be due to having a unclean surface. Even if the glass appears to look very clean, it still has oils and such from peoples hands. You can wipe the glass down with a cleaner such as rubbing alcohol.
3. Dry Out the Resist, but not to Dry: A third, is to make sure that the photoresist is dry but not bone dry. I use the photoresist that doesn’t require an application of adhesive. Its most tacky when it is almost dry. If the photoresist still has moisture absorbed, then the photoresist won’t adhere very well.
4. Lower the Air Pressure: A fourth rule, is to make sure the sandblasting pressure isn’t set at too high of a pressure. The photoresist company will usually have a recommended and maximum pressure that can be used for each specific photoreist thickness. Then it will also go back to the first rule I stated. If a larger grit is used, you may have to back off the pressure too.

[nonmember]Solutions to fix photo resist blowout problems. I talk about ensuring a clean surface, letting the resist dry enough, using the correct size grit, and the proper pressure setting.[/nonmember]

Here are some basic steps to sandcarving glass with a two stage sandcarving method. It is just one way to etch glass. You can see some of the popular ways by going to the main glass etching page. If you have read my ebook or read through the site, it discusses this as the major reason to use a pressure pot sandblaster.

Through a series of sandblasting stages, you can carve a 3 dimensional shape into the glass. This is very basic and can get more advanced. If you would like to know more about the advanced ways, please leave a comment below.

So here are the basic steps to sandcarve glass with a sandblaster. It is a simple 2 stage sandcarving.

First, place your stencil on the glass and cut out the pattern with a knife by following the lines. This example is with a flower that you can download for free at the glass etching pattern page. You will need to observe the stencil design. As you can see, I marked areas of the cut stencil with numbers. the number 1 means its the first blasting and the deepest to be carved. The number 2 means its the second blasting and is a light etch. Remove the number one areas of the stencil or the areas that would be closer to the observer when looking at. The picture below shows the first sandcarving stage ready to be blasted:

Below is a picture of the first stage deeply sandcarved with a pressure pot sandblaster:

After you have sandcarved the glass deep, then you can begin peeling back the stencil for the number 2 stage. Remember, you can mark the areas with a sharpe marker like I did. I marked the stencil areas with the number 2. As you can see, I pulled the areas and its ready to be lightly sandblasted below:

Then, for the final step after the second stage was lightly etched you can remove the stencil resist and clean up. Since I did a reverse etching which is the best way to sandcarve glass, you will need to flip the piece around as shown below:

If you liked this simple sandcarving, please bookmark this page with the buttons below. I will have more for you soon.

Update: Some people have been having problems with photo resists and stencils coming off so I made a post about fixing photoresist blowout problems. I hope these tips will help. Feedback would be great, just leave me a comment!

Part 1:

Part 2:

This page just shows some videos that I collected which shows you an idea of how the PAB blaster works which can be made fairly easy with some mechanical skills in my instructions here: https://www.glassetchingsecrets.com/member/make-a-variable-pressure-nozzle/

That page explains more about what the PAB Blaster is and how you can make a PAB blaster yourself. They can actually be made one for less than 20 dollars when the PAB blaster sells for about $200. The price is steep but it is useful, so check out my alternative ways to easily make one from materials you can find all over.

Be sure to also check out my new foot switch design which works in a similar manner as the PAB except it is controlled by your foot instead so it is easier to use. See the video of the foot switch nozzle here and watch the video.

[nonmember]A series of videos which shows some cool glass etchings that others have shared with us across the internet. This is a great way to help you see all the different possibilites there is to do with glass etching and sandcarving materials. I hope this give you some inspiration![/nonmember]

A video I made for Kyle Goodwin of his great glass etching:

The great Dobbins:

Cool glass: