Comments on: Steps for Sandcarving Glass

By: Ernie Robinson

Ernie Robinson — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:15:06 +0000

I have found on etching mirror on the face of the glass to enhance the picture, I Clean the etched area leaving the stencil in place. Dry with a hair dryer to ensure it is dry. Spray with clear spay paint. You don’t need a high dollars paint, the cheap stuff works fine. Peel the stencil shortly after spraying to prevent the clear from peeling back. The clear helps define the multi stage carving. It really makes the project pop.

By: Eric Robert

Eric Robert — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:40:50 +0000

Thanks Charlie!

Yes, photoresist is better for very fine detail. Stencil cutters can cut fairly fine too but its harder to weed out intricate parts. They do have fairly large photoresist also but the cost is ridiculously high compared to using a stencil cutter for it.

Most people use LED strips to light up the glass.

By: Charlie Svoboda

Charlie Svoboda — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:33:16 +0000

Is there any kind of light tape that you can put on the edge of glass to highlight the etching?

By: Charlie Svoboda

Charlie Svoboda — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:30:45 +0000

yes I did get a copy of the manual. Thanks looks to me like the photoresist is better for detail but limited to size.

By: Eric Robert

Eric Robert — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:30:08 +0000

Photoresist is better if you have a very intricate pattern. It does more detailed work.

For sandcarving you usually want to blast at about 60 PSI or more. See what works best for you. A good nozzle size is 3/32″.

Sorry, I didn’t check, but did you get a hold of the Glass Etching Secrets manual? It talks about software in there. There is too many software to list.

By: Charlie Svoboda

Charlie Svoboda — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:01:13 +0000

I want to know more. Why do you use a photoresist instead of vinyl stencil? What pressure do you use? What size nozzle do you recommend? software for designing artwork?

Thanks you
Charlie

By: Eric Robert

Eric Robert — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 03:12:05 +0000

Thanks Shane. I first started the site because I wanted to offer information that I didn’t see elsewhere. Its a slow and time consuming process but I’ll try and update the site with more info. Any topics or questions then let me know.

By: shane

shane — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 01:39:05 +0000

Thanks very much for the info. with stages on this site. hope people don’t take your info. for granted. I’ve looked around and a lot of folks are vague at best when explaining the process. protected they art..I understand..but fore someone like me. I’m not in it for gains. its peaceful and almost meditative. Therapeutic I guess I’m saying..Thanks again and keep it coming..

By: Sally Whitehair

Sally Whitehair — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:18:19 +0000

I WOWLD LIKE TO KNOW A LOT MORE ABOUT SANDCARVING AND SHADING

By: Roy

Roy — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:41:20 +0000

Thanks for the tips and info on 2 stage sandblasting. Was great for me to understand how it was done. Will led to some interesting work in the future . Keep them coming please.

By: Eric Robert

Eric Robert — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:08:39 +0000

Thanks John and Ed. I appreciate your comments as this does take alot of time to put these out there for you, even if it doesn’t look like. And sorry its not the best pictures; I kind of took them with my cell phone.

By: Edward

Edward — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 06:09:55 +0000

Hi Eric, thank you for this free tutorial, I appreciate it indeed. I have learned something new and can only benefit from it, hope to see more of these in future!
Regard
ED

By: John A James

John A James — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 03:03:56 +0000

I appreciate your info on adv. sandcarving-glass.. WOW & WOW this is great stuff you have sent us, my wife (Peggy) and I do want to thank you. we have looked on line (E-Bay) for the vinyl, is this always so expensive?? we need to get some fine grit:: and where do we get this from ????

John & Peggy James

By: Eric Robert

Eric Robert — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 19:51:52 +0000

I appreciate the comment Glen and thanks for the good tip. I think in the other blog post, I explained how you can sandcarve with 3 mil stencils. The key is to use a finer grit. The stencil used above was a 3 mil resist made from my cutter. I used 180 grit on it and I can cut fairly deep. I know it sounds ridiculous and maybe unsafe or unprofessional, but it works. Thats one way to get around the expensive thick sandmasks. And since I was going to use the finer grit no matter what, it works out. A finer grit makes nicer etchings.

By: Glen morris

Glen morris — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 18:44:28 +0000

Nice job on the flower Eric. Keep the beginner projects coming. Another tip on the 3 mil photoresist is to keep the nozzle moving. Never linger in one spot as the resist heats up quickly and will fail.