The Process

A Look At The Process

We will use the three photo's on this page to give you a look
at the actual process of "On Site / On Location" Glass Etching.

Stage 1... Cleaning & Masking

The process first starts with a thorough
cleaning of the glass to be etched. A white colored vinyl masking is applied to the entire glass area. This is to protect the glass from being sprayed by the sand blasting gun during the etching process.

Stage 2... Artwork is Cut Out

Then the blow ups of the desired artwork are applied to the protective mask (as shown in the photo above), so as to tell the artist which area of the mask needs to be cut out by hand for the actual etching (sandblasting) process. The white area in the background of this photo (right), is the protective mask discussed above. The black area represents the prescribed artwork having been cut out of the white masking material, showing the image of the tree, which is the area to actually be ready for sandblasting.

Stage 3... Finished Etching!

The photo to the left shows the glass area with the protective mask and artwork removed, and the previous black image area now reading as etched or crystallized within the main clear background.

Click photo's to enlarge for better viewing of artistic detail.

Why No Carving

While looking over our collection of project photo's, you may have noticed that there are none showing the look of "Carved or Three Dimensional" engraving. This is due to the fact that here in the U.S. and abroad, building codes for most residences, restaurants, and commercial sites have a mandated calling for "Tempered Glass". Tempered glass will explode if carving or deep engraving techniques are attempted. Since almost all of our "On-Site / On Location" work is on pre-existing tempered glass applications, we are limited to "Conventional" etching and engraving techniques.

To give the customer more than a one dimensional look included within our normal etching and engraving prices, we often add effective shading and air brushing techniques to enhance the overall artistic appearance of the project, so as to give it a more two dimensional appearance. We have also been known to do "In-House" work when it's the easiest and most cost effective way to complete the project.