Etching

[arko]

Not sure if this is actually suitable/related to this site/section (not related to sublimation)... but I have just started tinkering with something I saw on a Large scale Print/signage site. For a first attempt I thought it was at least presentable if not worthy of my missus putting it up on the wall.
This was made with an etching cream that apparently only works with glass. Some other brands etch perspex and other similar media. First I had to find a mirror... luckily enough, we had one in the shed intended for the car-boot sale.....
Removed the glass and backing, gave it a damn good clean with soapy water and a good dry with lint free cloth to reduce the tiny threads. .....got to watch out for finger-prints!.
Anyway, did a quick design with SignGo, cut on bog-standard sign vinyl and attempted the weeding task. ...... what a nightmare!... 3 hours later....!
Shook up my pot of magic cream and plastered it over the unmasked areas and let stand for 5 minutes. Took my brush and then dabbed again all over to ensure every little detail was covered. The whole etching/chemical reaction time was about 10 minutes... the manufacturer states 1-5 minutes depending on media but what I have read on other sites, I decided to leave it for longer.
Took the whole thing up to the shower and thoroughly rinsed off the rest of the cream, although some say it is re-useable... Im going to have to remember that! Once that was all washed off, I dried it and started to peel off all the remaining vinyl.... a quick polish and .....VOILA!.... what do you reckon?

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa50/arko1966/20130423_192900_zpsb59f229c.png http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa50/arko1966/20130424_155024_zps34ece3e3.png http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa50/arko1966/20130424_155050_zps10b63fb4.png http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa50/arko1966/20130424_155330_zps998168c6.png http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa50/arko1966/20130424_1656281_zps8d5b93fc.png

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa50/arko1966/20130424_165720_zpsc1a45f33.pnghttp://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa50/arko1966/20130424_165801_zps113617d3.png http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa50/arko1966/20130424_170104_zps6db9b3b7.png http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa50/arko1966/20130424_170148_zpse6f9288d.png http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa50/arko1966/20130424_1703331_zps427416f0.png

[arko]

p.s. did anyone notice the mistake in the text?.... if not, Im sure my missus wont either! ... hahahahaha!

[Paul]

Blimey!!! that loooks sooo good! Never tried that my self but someone mentioned this method once or twice on here but never seen actual result.

I think you can be proud of yourself.

btw. this should be in show off tread!

[arko]

Cheers Paul. For a first attempt, I was quite impressed myself. Burnt my fingers on the cream once or twice but it was worth it. And yeah, if it could be moved to the Show-Off Threads, that would be good. I wasnt sure where to put it.

[arko]

p.s. ... they are some of the nice florals I showed you from that vector site!. ;)

[Dave271069]

sorry but i cant see images lol.

[Ian M]

Ian, that is amazing & well done & thanks for sharing it with us.

[arko]

Cheers Ian. I was actually really surprised at how simple it is and very cheap to produce. I reckon you can get a cheap framed mirror like the one I used for around a fiver, the cream costs £7 and at that size might/may/could/probably sell personalised for around £30-£40 + if not a lot more. I dont know what prices these sort of things go for so if anyone has some pointers!!?... and Dave, are you using your windows 8 pc again?... hahahaha! I will send them by text if you want. ;)

[Justin]

Lovely work, very nice...and something a little different as well :-)

[arko]

Thanks Justin. I wasnt sure whether to submit it or not. I was chatting with Dave earlier and we both thought maybe there might be something in this... not much of a layout (cost), basic sign/sub/print equipment needed: graphics programme, cutter, vinyl and of course the glass. I forgot to mention ealier that when I was talking with Dave, he picked up on a good selling point through, weddings, glasses, military honours, memorials etc ..... any other ideas? Glasses I reckon would be good. Mind you, saying that, even on the size that I produced, the small detail was a pain to weed and if that or something similar was to be put onto a glass, the time factor for weeding alone would punch the price through the roof. :(

[Justin]

Certainly something to be weary of with any vinyl job...hours and hours of weeding! lol.

[arko]

Most definately Justin. One thing to note also is that if there is the slightest bit of grease from your fingers on the glass... the vinyl has a job to stick....(specially cheap vinyl)... if it starts to lift, you will not get a good defined outline. But, in some aspects, the slight blur in places looks good!. But all in all, keep it clean!... the result is a lot better, I have heard (this is still my first piece so I wouldnt really know!).

[draig]

Where did the cream come from? tried some once on some glasses, when I went to use again it had dried up so was useless.

Text fault: dot missing above i in Victoria.

Sharon

[tlworkwear]

This looks amazing! well done and I think I have found a little project for myself to try soon :)

[John G]

Nice one, excellent result.
I've heard of people doing this but screen printing the etch onto the glass, I suppose that would be for jobs where a cutter couldn't cut it small enough, or even for larger runs rather than one offs.

Thanks for sharing.

[Jeff]

Unfortunately my beer count isn't high enough to view the link... would really like to see it though... any chance you could post just the URL?

[arko]

@draig... well spotted hawk-eye! ;)

@jeff... heres the plain links.

Pic 1: http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa50/arko1966/20130423_192900_zpsb59f229c.png
Pic 2: http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa50/arko1966/20130424_155024_zps34ece3e3.png
Pic 3: http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa50/arko1966/20130424_155330_zps998168c6.png
Pic 4: http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa50/arko1966/20130424_170148_zpse6f9288d.png
Pic 5: http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa50/arko1966/20130424_1703331_zps427416f0.png

[viccar]

Wow, fantastic job, well done, they are lovely, I know where to come if I want some doing :smile:

[arko]

Steady on viccar!.... thats only my first one!... but will definately be getting some glasses, mirrors and other glass-based objects to have a go on and make a photo gallery. All I need now is a few staples to put the glass back in the frame correctly. Dont want it falling out when the missus sees it! That would be a disaster!

[Jason]

Looks really good, for the fine weeding can you not apply the whole cut design onto the mirror and then weed off this as this tends to work better for fine detail.

[Renniwano]

I noticed.. but not till you said to look !! so 'I' won't say anything..

I love etching.. I have a pint glass I did and a few other bits but even I haven't managed anything that big.. it's stunning :)

If I were to see that somewhere I wouldn't expect much change from £50 to be honest..

[arko]

Looks really good, for the fine weeding can you not apply the whole cut design onto the mirror and then weed off this as this tends to work better for fine detail.

I taped the cut design and then applied it to the glass as if you were doing a normal sign. Then weeded. Due to the amount of very small leaf detail, I couldnt weed before without losing the membranes. I snagged a couple of them but salvaged the majority. I think with a little trial and error, there will be a basic method that soon appears. Another must, is to square the image up to the corners exactly!..... its a good job thought of using a set-square and soft lead pencil to align it.... even though I had cut the border with a weeding margin, I hadnt quite set the vinyl in the cutter squarely... I was out by around 3mm from top to bottom which was very noticeable when facing it up to the glass. Got ideas running through my head like mad now... I think my clam press will soon be redundant! hahahaha.

[arko]

I noticed.. but not till you said to look !! so 'I' won't say anything..

I love etching.. I have a pint glass I did and a few other bits but even I haven't managed anything that big.. it's stunning :)

If I were to see that somewhere I wouldn't expect much change from £50 to be honest..

Another hawk-eye! ;) hahaha.

The glass is 600x500mm. And as for the £50 mark, Ive still yet to see similar specimens on the internet.. I suppose for bespoke items such as this, people are not going to expect a sum for much less than this.

The work involved would probably be:
Design sent in by customer.
Design drawn into graphics programme, edited and converted.
Design reviewed and approved by customer.
Design cut.
Design applied and weeded.
Design etched.
Glass polished and framed.
Item shipped.

Tools needed for the one I produced:
Mirror and frame.
Vinyl cutter.
Graphics programme - CorelDraw and SignGo Pro
Basic white vinyl.
Weeding Tool.
Glass cleaner and lint-free cloth.
Masking tape.
Application tape.
Set-Square.
Surgical gloves (to stop fingerprints!).
Etching cream and applicator brush.
Cold water to rinse (Not Hot!)