What is glass etching?

Glass etching is the abrading or roughening of a piece of glass in selected areas in order to produce a design. It is a way to produce a “frosted” design on the surface of a piece of glass, but it is much more than that! It can also be used to carve a design deep into the glass or to produce a shaded design that looks like delicate airbrushing but is permanently etched in the glass. Using the same equipment and techniques, it is also possible to etch or carve on stone, ceramic or wood, and even to etch designs on metal!

The kind of etching we are talking about here is abrasive, or sandblast etching - by far the most widely used method of glass etching and the one with the biggest variety of effects.

Why etched glass?

Glass etching is a beautiful and elegant method of creating a graphic design on the surface of an otherwise smooth piece of glass. Just as important, it is permanent and will never come off. Etched and carved glass has become extremely popular these days, and you see it everywhere in upscale restaurants, hotels, banks, theaters and homes.

The current booming interest in etched glass only started about 20 years ago, first with architectural applications (for example, etched doors and windows), but has now spread into etched glass awards, corporate and personal gifts, elements for interior design and decoration (table tops, room dividers, cabinet doors, etc.), signs and much more.

Glass etching is a great way to add value and "Curb Appeal" to your home. Etching can be the piece de resistance of  your fine home, there for you and your guests to enjoy for many years to come. Glass etching can also be used for privacy, to divide a room or to lessen the amount of light coming through the glass.

What different glass etching techniques are there?

All of the possible visual effects you can achieve by abrasive blasting on glass can be broken down into 3 major techniques: surface etching, carving andshading.

Surface etching: So named because you are only etching the surface of the glass. In addition, this type of etching is all done in one stage of blasting, which means that the designs produced are all 2 element designs. That is, all the designs are positive and negative, or black and white. The etched portions of the design almost always look white, and the clear, unetched portions of the design look black or dark. All etched elements have to be separated by spaces of unetched glass, or the etched elements blend together as a single silhouette, with no detail inside the border. Surface etching is the easiest technique to learn and the fastest way to produce a finished etching on glass. The etched designs aren't as sophisticated as those from carving or shading. Carving: Called carving because you actually blast, or carve, deep into the glass, giving a three dimensional etching. There are several types of carving, including single stage, two stage, multi-stage, and freehand carving. Single stage carving is simply blasting a surface etching design deeply into the glass, separating elements with clear spaces, as in surface etching. With two stage or multi-stage carving, the resist is removed, not all at once, but a few elements at a time and in a definite sequence. This way, elements can be carved to different depths than the other elements they touch, yielding a 3-D bas relief carving. But not a regular bas relief, a reverse bas relief - since you are carving from one side of the glass and viewing the finished carving from the opposite (smooth) side! In other words, you are carving a hollow (or negative) shape in the glass that looks solid and positive from the smooth side. Elements of a two stage or multi-stage carving design do not have to be separated from each other as they do in surface etching, because they are removed at different times and blasted to different depths. These different depths are what give the necessary visual separation between elements. Shading: Like surface etching, this technique just blasts the surface of the glass. But unlike surface etching, the elements in the design are blasted to different apparent shades of gray (hence the name Shading), rather than to the solid white color produced in surface etching. The principle of shading is that 100% clear glass usually appears dark while full surface etching appears 100% white. So you can create shades of gray by etching the surface to a density less than 100%, and you control the shade by controlling the density. Shading, like carving, can be done in one stage, two stage, multi-stage, and freehand techniques. Elements of the shading design can all touch, as they can with a carving design, because the visual separations between elements are created by the stage blasting process. In shading, this gives different shades of gray where elements touch rather than different depths as in carving. Shaded etching looks very much like airbrushing, with flowing tones of light and dark indicating shape and contour. Combinations of techniques: Any etching can be produced with just one technique, but also by a combination of two or all three techniques. For glass etchers who know all three techniques, this gives the ability to do the best and most sophisticated etchings possible. It is the ability to use each technique for its strengths and avoid its weaknesses. You can also get beautiful results by combining etching with other glassworking techniques, like stained glass, glass blowing, etc.

Design And Pricing

   We have thousands of designs and motifs that are available to choose from. Using a design from my image bank can cut costs down on design time and is incorporated in the final cost of the project. When I meet with a client for the first time I try to get a feel for what type of design or theme they are envisioning. In this way I can narrow the choices down and present a few design options for the client to choose from. After the design is chosen and price(s) are agreed upon I ask for three to four weeks to complete the work.  I always strive to get the work done as soon as possible, and will keep you updated of the status of your order.

If you choose a custom design, we will consult with my designer who will be able to help create your vision.  Due to the work involved creating these types of designs, there are extra fees associated with this option.  

  

 Because this is custom art, prices can vary in price depending the size of the piece, detail and type of glass used. The other factor in pricing is the technique used. A simple surface etch design is the most cost effective with shortest production time. A multi-stage shading or carving design takes more time and thus is reflected in the price. 

Call or e-mail me with your design ideas, the dimensions and type of glass to be etched and the type of technique you would like to use and I can give you a quote the same day.

Thanks and Aloha !

Jasper Assid  808-283-4334

jasper_assid@yahoo.com