April 27, 2012 at 4:07 pm

LED Etched Glass

I wanted to share another idea to help you enhance your etched glass. A few people are familiar with this topic, but some aren’t, so I figured I would share the idea of using LED lights to help light up the etching.

Currently, I am working on putting together a tutorial in my members only area showing people how to make inexpensive LED lights and use them to light up your work. Maybe I will post it here also, if people are interested.

LED lighting up a multi-stage sandcarving.

Using LED lights can really make your art pop out! This can be used with the acid cream or sand carving. It looks the coolest when lighting up multi-stage sand carvings though because the light exposes all the layers better.

You can see one of my examples above with the LED added to the sand carving. I like it but there are many problems with this as you can see.

So here are some of the problems and how you can fix this:

  1. The first problem is the LED doesn’t light up the whole etching very evenly. The reason is because it is a large sheet to cover and the glass has a green tint to it when looking at it from the side. There are clearer forms of glass such as acrylic and crystal glass available, but they are expensive. I could also place a LED strip at the top.
  2. The light is noticeable at the bottom and doesn’t look uniform. You can place led strips all around the edges so there is an orange glow outline.
  3. The sand carving is not as noticeable as it should be. The reason for this is because I didn’t include a background on the glass. Since I have light colored walls, it would be a good idea to add a dark background such as gray, black, or a darker shade of any color. I will eventually do this.
  4. Dang! There are 2 LED’s that aren’t working as you can see. More fixing that I have to do.

I hope you enjoyed my updates and the idea of using LED lights, along with the included tips when using them on larger pieces of glass.

Please leave any comments below. Soon I will be allowing people to create their own blog on here and share pictures of their own projects. Anyone interested?

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Eric Robert
About Eric Robert
I am the owner and creator of this website. I got my start in etching many years ago. At first I wanted to start a business, but after finding a lot of cool information through countless hours of researching, I decided to etch as a hobby and build this website to help others. -Eric

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12 comments so far

  1. J.J.Anghelone

    April 27th, 2012 at 7:53 pm

    I am just starting out in the sand carving business so have not yet reached the point where I can add enhancements, but one of my goals is to make full use of LEDs to increase the value of my works. I am now in the process of designing various bases for the glass and am including in the designs the ability to add the LEDs along the edges. Any practical hints from you or others to enable me to skip making the same mistakes that others have made would be greatly appreciated.

  2. D Sanderson

    April 27th, 2012 at 10:05 pm

    I am very interested in being able to use LEDs to enhance my mirror and glass etchings/engravings… though I know diddly squat about electronics. Are there instructions available on how to wire LEDs? What sort of power source is required? I am a total empty loaf in these areas. Any help would be appreciated.

  3. E. McPherson

    April 27th, 2012 at 10:37 pm

    I haven’t started sand carving or etching (no equipment, yet), but I certainly enjoy your news letters. Your info has prompted me to do lots of research via internet.I’ve had some encouragement from my local glass company to start though. Do you make your own frames,too.

  4. bradsglassart

    BradsGlassArt

    April 28th, 2012 at 8:25 am

    I”d love to hear how you create your own LED lighted bases. I had to purchase one and for a 7″ x 7″ glass tile it cost about $37.00. Can we make them cheaper and not use up a lot of time to create them? I say continue with your LED tutorials.

  5. Nadina

    April 28th, 2012 at 9:26 am

    I’ve been experimenting with various lighting methods for quite some time and can sympathize with Brads Glass Art on the high cost of available lighted bases. My major problem with the LEDs, that I imbedded into a wood base, was that the lights (when left on for several hours) burned the wood…..not good! I would be very interested in finding solutions. There is a definite advantage to being able to light up your work. I’ve done several wedding plaques and lighting them up brings them to life.

  6. J.J.Anghelone

    April 28th, 2012 at 5:22 pm

    I had been considering using fiber optics as a light source but still need to do the research. The advantage of this type of lighting would be the reduction, if not the total elimination of heat. Plus you would have a more flexible lighting arrangement. I still need to see about the availability of the supplies and the cost comparison with LEDs. But like I said: I still have much research to do.

  7. Dorothy

    April 29th, 2012 at 9:41 am

    Is there a stronger acid for acid etching glass. I find the Armour product does not etch deeply enough, it is too faint.
    Using the LED lights is interesting and adds a nice additional element to the item.

    Thank you for your help.

    Dorothy

  8. Eric Robert

    Eric Robert

    April 29th, 2012 at 12:59 pm

    @ D Sanderson- The package that you buy the LED’s should say the amount of volts and amps is required for each. All you need to is get a transformer power supply that has an output of the exact voltage and no more or the LED’s will burn out. You can use a resistor though if its more than required. The power supply also needs to have a minimum amperage for all the LEDs. Multiply the required amperage by total LEDs.

    @ BradsGlassart & Nadina- You definitely can make them cheaper. If I can find a place that has wood already styled, then it shouldn’t take much time.

    @ Dorothy- Sorry to say but I haven’t been able to find acid cream that etches better. I tested most of them. You would need to use the deadly hydrofluric acid kind to get better results.

  9. Lorraine Stark

    May 2nd, 2012 at 10:38 am

    Hi, i only started a short while ago< but unfortunately due to family illness have not had time to do anything more. But i sure do enjoy reading about all one can do and the fabulous ideas. Hopefully soon i can get going again. Thank you so much for all the great tips, from what i am reading i have a whole lot of practice to do.

  10. terryjo

    May 3rd, 2012 at 7:50 pm

    Eric your articles are great,I love this one! As far as power sources the easyest to use is the adapters for radios and such for a couple dollers you can get exactely the power you need.Some of the supplyers on line have calculaters to figure out what voltage and amperage you need if you buy strip LEDS they tellyou on the wraper.Please continue wrighting about this,my wife read your article and thinks I should try to do it to our frech doors leading to the back deck,I thought I would use drilled in contacts like a security alarm what do you think? Do you think on exterior doors I should use double pains?
    Thanks TerryJo

  11. Deaconware

    May 6th, 2012 at 6:01 pm

    @J.J.Anghelone
    Fiber optics will not work for light up the glass the way you want it too. Ideal fiber optics produce total internal reflection, meaning light only goes out the end of the cable, not the sides.

    @Nadina
    LEDs should not get hot enough to burn wood (if they even get hot). You are either using small incandescent bulbs that look like LEDs or your power supply is way to large. LEDs are diodes, not resistors like incandescent bulbs, so they should not get hot. If you rigged the LEDs yourself, make sure all the wires and connections are insulated with electrical tape.

    All, Look at superbrightleds.com for LED strips and bars. There prices are decent. If you look in their gallery, you can find a bunch of examples of etched glass. If you’re looking to get the aluminum housing for the LEDs (for a more modern look, or you can put a finish on it or sandblast it), don’t get them on that site, home depot has the same thing for 1/2 the price. Just cut it to size, angle the ends, and solder it together to make a frame (I believe the one at home depot are made of steel, so soldering shouldn’t be an issue.

    Also, you should have basic electronics knowledge (Ohm’s law, diodes)when you’re not buying a premade thing. Superbrightleds.com makes it easy though and you don’t have to solder anything. You can call them if you’re unsure about the power source.

    Hope that helped,
    Austin

  12. J.J.Anghelone

    May 6th, 2012 at 8:03 pm

    Thanks for the information and link. Using fiber optic cable will have its place in my options but for most work, I’m glad that I can use the LEDs. The examples are great for inspiration. Thanks again for your post.

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