Glass Art and Etching News Updated information on glass art, the craft of etching, sandcarving, and the engraving industry with glass, metal, or anything.

I just got a recent email from a man named Johnny who wanted to ask me some questions about this hobby.  I appreciate any questions and you can leave me comments on this blog as well.  I figured I would share it here because other crafters might have the same questions.  So here’s his questions (some of them pertaining to using cream with cursive writing) and my answers:

1. How smoothly does the cream or acid flow? - The cream is rather thick and has a high viscosity so it doesn’t flow like a water or anything.  I actually chose not to work with the acid, but I think it flows more easily and has a lower viscosity.  If I am wrong, then someone leave me a comment.  If you are working with the strong chemical, then I would take all the proper safety precautions.  Read about it before using it; its very dangerous.  Visit the acid etching page to get some other information on it.
2. Do I need any special kind of brush or will any fine tip paint brush stand up to the chemical?- If your just using the regular crafting glass etching cream, then you don’t need a special kind of brush.  Some people use foam brushes and others use regular brushes.  So yes, a fine tip brush will work but if your doing freehand cursive brushing, it may be hard or unachievable to make the cream follow precisely with your strokes (due to being thick and all).  I personally haven’t tried it so let me know if it does work.  Either way it won’t work as perfectly desired.
3. Can the brushes be cleaned and reused?- Yes, definitely.  You can just wash the cream off the brush with water.
4. Can it be thinned with anything?- I might have to look back at some chemistry books (lol) to find out what it can be thinned with.  I actually don’t know this and its a good question.  One thing that I would like to say is, if you can thin it, the glass may not etch as well as the original thick cream.  Diluting the etching cream any further would effect the potency of the chemicals.  The chemicals required to etch it are fairly diluted already.   But its worth a try on a scrap piece of glass and I would be happy to hear if it was successful or not. 
5. How long does it take to etch b4 removing it?- I think it varies on the etching cream brand but is usually about 5 minutes.  You can see my previous post about the main etching cream brands sold.

To answer your other questions, I don’t as of now sell the acid or cream on my site.  Maybe someday though.  There are a few places that sell it on the Internet.  Just google it and you will find a few places.  Personally, I buy mine on ebay but don’t use it often as I love to sandblast the glass.  Thanks for your questions and feel free to ask me anything here, as well as others.

• Tags: Acid Etching, Chemicals, Cursive Writing, Foam Brushes, Glass Etching Cream, Potency, Proper Safety Precautions, Thick Cream, Viscosity

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