Glass Etching Tutorial

This is an extremely easy project that can be done in less than an hour (assuming you already have a stencil or know what you plan on using).

What You Will Need:
1-Glass object (this works on mirrors as well)
A bottle of Armour Etch Etching Cream
1-Foam Brush
Contact Paper (if you are making your own stencil) or you can by pre-made stencils at hobby stores such as Michael's or Hobby Lobby
1-Roll of masking tape
Latex or Vinyl gloves (if you don't want to live dangerously on the edge.lol)
  

1. Trace the image for your stencil onto the contact paper and cut it out with an x-acto knife. You will want to reverse the image before tracing or cutting it out otherwise your etching will turn out backwards.

2. Once your stencil has been cut out you'll want to trim it down. Make sure you leave a bit of an edge so the tape can overlap onto the stencil.

3. Peel the backing off of the contact paper a place it on your glass object.

4. Put tape around the stencil being sure to have a slight overlap with the stencil so the etching cream won't leak out onto the other areas of the glass. You will then want to tape off a large enough portion of the glass so if the cream runs off the designated area it wont start etching other parts of the glass.

6. Apply the etching cream. Using the foam brush apply a thin layer of etching cream and then go back and blob it on so there is an even layer covering your stencil.

7. Wait. The bottle says that you only have to wait 60 seconds for the image to be etched into the glass but this leaves a very poor image. It will look much better if you let it set for 30 minutes.

8. After the 30 minutes have passed you will want to wash of the cream using hot water, then peel off the tape and the stencil and your done.



Side Notes:
-If you are cutting out a detailed stencil it might be easier to put the stencil on the glass before you start cutting it out.
-It is recommended on the etching cream bottle that you wear gloves when using the cream to prevent getting it on your skin (it claims that this is very dangerous). Now I'm not the best at following directions so I never wear gloves when doing this. I have gotten the cream on my hands a few times and after immediately wiping and washing them off I have noticed no problems.