Etched glass is a common sight in today’s world, and it adds flair and a touch of elegance to many otherwise mundane pieces of glass. Though few consider it, there are actually two very distinct and different ways of producing etched glass, both methods differ in cost and also the final result.
Before illustrating the methods, it is valuable to understand the actual process of etching a glass surface. Etching is when you removing small amounts of a surface of a material to create designs. This is done in a controlled manner, to create often complex and beautiful patterns and illustrations. The traditional method of glass etching is sandblasting, which involved covering a “negative” of the design desired onto a glass surface. To clarify, this is the same as putting up tape on the surfaces you don’t want painted when spray painting. The same principle is applied to the glass, and then specialized equipment is used to bombard the glass with sand, which scratches away at the glass where it is not covered and creates a frosted effect.
The updated method is called “high definition chemical etching”. As opposed to using clunky equipment to bombard the surface of the glass with small particles of rock, this process uses chemicals to precisely remove a small amount of material from the surface of the glass. This results in much more detailed results, and also opens up the possibility of more depth and shading, as sandblasted etchings are all a uniform frosted white color.
The two methods are very distinctive and produce drastically different results. While sandblasting is better for general designs and large area work, high definition etching is much more delicate. Not only is it more gentle to touch, unlike sandblasted glass, it provides much more detailed work.
When considering custom work, high definition etching is definitely the best decision. When speaking of custom glass etching a important thing to know is that chemical etching is generally less expensive than sandblasting, partially explained by the fact that it doesn’t require complex and costly equipment. However, much work or skill goes into its production, as chemical etching is a precise and precarious process, which demands real skill. Pretty much in the etching business there is no such thing as a redo.
Etched glass is a beautiful way to add some elegance to any glass door, window, table, etc. Etched mirrors can add a classy accent to any home decor also. Each high definition etched mirror also has the amazing ability to remain reflective, even where they’ve been etched. This is not the case with sandblasted mirrors, as they turn a frosty color in the sections that they’ve been etched. This makes possible for some very elegant and tasteful surfaces.
