Thinking about doing a design on our “future” shower enclosure. Want to know if 3/8″ tempered glass can be bead-blasted or etched after the glass has been tempered? Will be templating this week for two side panels and a center door to be manufactured (see pic). If I choose to put a design on these pieces later, will they explode on me? will I deplete the integrity of the units? or is this commonly done after tempering? Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance
Phil
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Replies
http://www.on-sitesystems.com/specs/glass.htm
Surface etch or depth carve? Tempered glass cannot be deep carved safely. If depth is desired in tempered glass, the sandblasting should be executed prior to tempering or use annealed glass that is laminated to meet code requirements.
Just surface etching. Thanks for the link. Now I'm feeling encouraged!
I have done glass etching over the past 20 years, except for the past 5 years. Almost all of this has been shallow etching, just enough frost the glas to be opaque. This has been done on tempered and non temperewd glas with no failures. The gal I used to know did very artist deep etched murals and I believe her work was tempered before she etched. Some of her stuff was 3-4 glass panels deep. Her name was Jude Taylor, out of Laguna Beach, Ca. Her is the only thing I can find online that she has done. http://lagunacanyonartists.com/JudeTaylor/Jude%20Taylor.htm
I have had sign companies make the vinyl "templates" and I have cut my own. The thin adhesive vinyl rolls that you but to protect threashold works great if you plan on doing just frosting of the glass. I have even used 2" red/yellow vinyl tape you but from the paint store. Just make sure you cover EVERY surface you don't want blasted. You can also use various grits of silica sand from a masonary suppy. Start with 60 grit and plya around with it on some scrap glass and vinyl tape. It's actually fun to do.
That shower curtain does look a bit tackey on the Taj Mahal.
Joe H
The compressive layer that tempering is composed of goes approximately 25% of the thickness of the glass deep. If you go that deep the glass will shatter for sure. But, you can safely etch the surface with chemical etching media. You can sandblast, but just enough to frost the surface. As long as you don't get close to a quarter of the thickness in depth, you can sandblast.
Be aware that the acid used to etch glass is quite dangerous to the touch. It causes no pain on contact which fools people into thinking they have not had contact. The danger is not from skin burns, but systemic effects on the blood, bones, and nervous system. So, do not fail to wear rubber gloves. Fumes are not too bad, unless they are so intense they are uncomfortably strong to smell.
The acid is very soluble in water and rinses clean with little effort. It's perfectly safe after rinsing.
Hi PhillK
Used to sell to the glass industry and a lot of interesting art was produced here in Vancouver, B.C. especially in the Chinese community. The main methods were using 3M resist which was an adhesive backed rubber roll. There were three layers, draw on one, cut out the pattern and then peel off the backing and adhere to the glass. There were diffent thicknesses, tacks(glue strength) depending on the application. I would not advocate blasting tempered glass. The main way these artists worked was to use a sandblast pot with different grades of aluminum oxide grit and blast the surface. It needs skill to get good results. If you don't blast just right you can lift an edge an ruin the whole piece. Practice on old pieces.
Cheers
Mac
For an interesting read, this explains how glass is tempered. Pretty neat: http://www.alumaxbath.com/tech/tgp.htm
Thank you all for the links, feedback and insight. Now that I know it can be done, I have to sell the wife on the idea for the shower enclosure. This is not to say I won't try this on other pieces. I have done minimal surface etching before on non-tempered glass. No chemical etching, but hey, gotta try everything once. Now gotta come up with a design and selling pitch!Thanks again!PhilI'll be sure to post pictures if this transpires!
Ohmigod! You were serious. That's it, I'm getting the eggs ready! no one should have a bathroom nicer than my whole house! ;)
Where the heck is Don? I would have thought he would chime in on this topic considering his sig line is:
"Don
Can't hide from you! When you come over to egg me, please do it when I'm in the Shower (no jokes!, I' be wearing my bathing suit). We templated the shower yesterday. SO I hope to have it in before Christmas. I'll post the finished pictures then. Look for it under "My dream shower". This was a post I did last year when it was under construction. I let this post slide for quite a wile , so I'll resurrect it for all to see.LaterPhil