Sand blasting glass

[Greenman]

Any of you ever done it? I have a little project that I need to get done, it's a one shot deal, it works or costs me a thousand bucks. Any tips would be helpfull.

 

[Micrornd]

I used a "harbor freight" type sandblaster to etch designs on a couple of van windows back in the '80s (yeah, one of those).
Long ago forgot the specifics but -
finest grit, I could get
lowest usable pressure
multiple layers of tape to protect areas not to be etched
practice for best distance
I grabbed a couple of old windows from the junkyard and that gave me 4 sides to practice on before the real things.

Shortly after that airbrush sandblasters became available in my area 😡 and made things easy.
The airbrush sandblasters the best way to go if you are etching a design on something.
Just PRACTICE first, that's the key and the thinner the glass, the greater the distance and slower the work.
Close and fast just breaks things.

I found out (the hard way) your can bore a hole in van side glass without breaking it with a sandblaster 😉, not that I've ever had anyone ask me to on purpose.

 

[Greenman]

Good tips. Thanks for the info.

 

[pcgeek11]

I would think that chemical etching would be better and safer than sandblasting.

 

[deadlyapp]

I did chemical etching on a bunch of decanters and glasses as bachelor gifts and it worked great. If you're already having to do some type of stencil, then using a chemical etch should be significantly easier and less time consuming. The most time consuming part of the work was making the stencil (I ended up just going and buying a cri-cut machine to make them).

You can get some bleed with the chemical etch, but if you mask well and have a good line, you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[JEDIYoda]

why not just etch it by hand....

 

[IronWing]

why not just etch it by hand....

I use my elbows.

 

[Greenman]

So I ended up using a cheap hazard fraught sand blaster and glass beads. Worked well after some practice on a scrap piece of glass.

 

[JEDIYoda]

So I ended up using a cheap hazard fraught sand blaster and glass beads. Worked well after some practice on a scrap piece of glass.

was there any doubt! That is what you do!! Peace!!

 

[Micrornd]

So I ended up using a cheap hazard fraught sand blaster and glass beads. Worked well after some practice on a scrap piece of glass.

You never did say exactly what you were doing?

 

[herm0016]

pics? for the classic "pantry" door ? lol

 

[Greenman]

You never did say exactly what you were doing?

It was an expensive exterior door that I ordered incorrectly. Glass was clear instead of obscure. Because it's a high end door, the glass and grids all have to be replaced as a unit that takes weeks to get, is expensive, and difficult to replace.

 

[Micrornd]

It was an expensive exterior door that I ordered incorrectly. Glass was clear instead of obscure. Because it's a high end door, the glass and grids all have to be replaced as a unit that takes weeks to get, is expensive, and difficult to replace.

You know they make "privacy window film" for that 😉
But maybe not appropriate for the build level, eh?

 

[Greenman]

You know they make "privacy window film" for that 😉
But maybe not appropriate for the build level, eh?

Tried the film, owner didn't like it. The sandblasting appears to be acceptable, though not the perfect answer. They're nice folks, and trying to avoid making me buy them a new door. The other side of that is that I respect their wishes and won't object in any way if they decide they can't live with the sandblasting.