Sunday, January 16, 2011

Etching Wars!

I told you I was going to talk about etching!
I am starting a project called 'Etching Wars'. This has all started with what is now 'evil medium transparent turquoise' by Vetro. It wont etch like the rest of my glass, and yet is so darn pretty etched! Is it too much to ask for this color to etch??? no... I think not. I will post in detail the etching process, pictures of the beads etched and not, and compile a chart of etching times to achieve that satin finish in every color I own. starting with the transparents. I will also be adding tips on how to use this etching time to your advantage when combining colors in making your beads, with the intent of etching them, to create a great effect.

Yesterday I etched about 60 small beads. I etched them in small batches, mixed the solution as they sat, and most all of the beads were perfectly etched in about 10 min. The turquoise was evil. it did not etch in that time, or double that time and MORE time! I finally left them in and had dinner, and went back to them maybe 2 hours later. Finally they had etched.. but why so long??? Not to mention after this time there was not a satin finish, but a more rough almost rustic feeling to them.

Please feel free to jump in here and comment with any information you would like to add to the 'etching wars' and any suggestions you may have.... I am baffled on this seemingly simple etch. I will be looking on the coloraddiction blog, and on LE. I started a thread there as well if you want to post there as well.


I have had such a time with etching certain colors I figured I would share them in their own little spot.
This page will be dedicated to etching glass. I have made test beads in the colors I have had. I started with the transparent colors (mainly because aqua was being evil to me!)

Here are the test beads before etching. I have also been working to improve my photography skills this year, so bear with me.



2 comments:

  1. I only etch for 5 minutes.....I wonder if you are in the bath too long???

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  2. I did initially check them at 5 min. There was no etch what so ever. It may be the cream I use, or a weak batch. Who knows... It's very temperamental. Next time I place a glass order I will buy some liquid etch. That may be my major problem.

    Thanks for your imput. :)

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