Multistage Sandblast Etching Tutorial

Hello all!

It has been a while since I've written a blog however I have had a lot of requests to show how I multi-etched these pieces of glass.  Let me preface this with the fact that I myself searched and searched for tutorials and never found one that showed the basics of the technique.  I pieced together several bits of information that I found and basic trial and error to get where I am.  Hopefully this helps you too.

Supplies:
-Clear glass coasters with rubber feet (I got mine from www.etchworld.com) or any flat piece of glass.  You need to etch the bottom so make sure it a clear surface and a bottom you can reach.
-Size 4 mil etching vinyl (size 6 mil may have been better, I had to double tape mine and the vinyl still pulled up once)
-size 6 and 7 clay spray nozzles
-cutting blades (I use a Silhouette Cameo and Exacto knives)
-transfer tape (I use contact paper)
-blast cabinet (I used 80 grit Aluminum Oxide blast material) Any course lower grit blasting sand will do.

Silhouette Cameo:

In order to multi-layer etch, you need a multi-layer image.  The easiest way using the Silhouette is to use the offset option and do a wide trace of your image.  If you are writing words, you need to reverse the image first.

This is the original single layer image.

Using the offset option, add a large trace around the outside of the image

I usually then draw a square box around my image which will cut the entire thing out of the vinyl and give you straight edges which help you lay the vinyl.  Cut the vinyl.

Flip the glass upside down  (feet side up).  Do not weed until after the vinyl is stuck to the glass. Lay a piece of transfer paper over your vinyl, peel off the vinyl backing.  Place the vinyl and stick it to your glass, peel off the transfer paper.  At this point, your glass should look something like this...

If you look closely, you can see the cut lines.  I have not yet pulled off the transfer tape in this image.

Note, you may want to cut your square larger than the glass, here I had to tape the edges with masking tape twice because I didn't make my square big enough.  Using the vinyl to cover the whole thing is stronger than using masking tape.  

Next you are going to weed the first layer.  Pull off the original image first that you had before you had offset the image.  This is what you will blast first.  

The black is what you should weed out. 

Blasting with a Blast Cabinet:

You want to leave the offset layer in place for now and only blast what you see in black.  I did not change the pressure of my compressor, I have it set to the same settings I use with the cabinet and AO for single blasting.  (this pressure will probably vary for you depending on your setup.  I am happy to tell you my specific setup if you need it).  When blasting, use the smaller nozzle, for me the size 6.  I use a quick back and forth motion, turning the piece about halfway through.  You want to etch deep enough to make an edge around the image that you can feel.  Another way to tell is to use an Exacto knife to run across the edges of your image, if it catches and doesn't feel smooth, then you know it is done.  You can also turn the piece over and see the curves start to form from the other side.  

Peel off everything in red.  The black should be etched.

Next you will peel off everything in red, just leaving the outside square. The black will already be etched and you will be doing a very light blast over the whole thing.  Use a larger nozzle, for me #7.  use a quick once or twice over the surface, a little slower than before.  Be very careful not to over etch.  If you do, that deeper layer will be lost.  You only want to etch just enough to color the surface white, nothing more.  If needed stop and check after each 1-2 swipes to see that it is covered.  You can also flip it over to check that you aren't losing the deep layer.  

Voila you have a beautiful and easy multi-layer etched piece!  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at colorfulcreationsbysteph@gmail.com or message me on facebook: www.facebook.com/etchableme 

Here are some others I've done to practice:

This is just a practice piece of scrap glass. Learned the hard way to reverse the words!