Window etching

[DeViL_909]

What is the best way to etch an acrylic window? I don't mean using the spray either. I think you can use dremel bits, but what would be the best ones? I am having to cover a big area in some places so I need an idea for those parts too. Thanks,
JS

 

[PopeAlexander]

A chemical etch would get you the most uniform and neat results with a good masking off of the design. Some can etch pretty deep if you leave them on longer. I dont know any chemical brands, but you dont seem interested in them.

 

[DeViL_909]

Well I tryed the glass frost spray and it works ok. It will leave wierd white spots that really take away from the effect. Chemicals are a good idea, but I would be really worried about it on the acrylic. The design is already on the case right now and the tape is off. This is why I am thinking about using a dremel and an etching bit. I am just trying to see if anyone has any experience with this and what they think is the best means of tackling it.

 

[Sean Lindstrom]

Chemicals are a good idea, but I would be really worried about it on the acrylic.

What's the worst that can happen? The chemicals might cloud or etch the acrylic?

What kind of etch do you want? Creamy or rough textured? How small are the details?

I've only etched glass, with etching cream, and the result is smooth and crisp.

Nobody can achieve consistent etching over large areas with a Dremel. Maybe passable with the router base attachment.

 

[DeViL_909]

Well the main problem is that I have used a frost spray already and it would be very hard to retape and cut out the design again. You say there is a cream that can do it. Where might I find it, and does it eat through tape? Sorry I got myself into a little hole and trying to get out . A smooth etch is what I am looking for, but I will take what I can get. THanks for the help

 

[PopeAlexander]

The cream you should be able to use a brush and paint the cream onto the design, though if you used paint, you'll want to get rid of that or the etching material won't etch I would think.

Not sure if the glass etcher would work on acrylic.

Also, I read in a lot of these forums that dremels don't work well with a lot of plastics since the frictional work done by the dremel melts the plastic (grinds away instead of cuts away)...

 

[Sean Lindstrom]

Well the main problem is that I have used a frost spray already and it would be very hard to retape and cut out the design again.

And the tape is off. So what you want is to etch though the frost coating and into the acrylic, along the lines of the frosting?

Sorry, but you're really in a bind. There's no way to get a smooth etch without masking off a clean sheet and applying an etching formula in one go. It's like making perfect pasta you've got to boil the noodles all as one.

Don't worry, the acids used for etching won't eat through masking tape before you're done. I always just cover the whole sheet with masking tape and use a knife to cut out the etch areas. This will score the acrylic slightly but I suppose that's good because it'll subtly sharpen the pattern.

Does the spray can tell us how to clean the frosting off?

No way you'll use a fresh panel?

 

[DeViL_909]

Hmm well I could try just cutting the design agian over the old one and then aplying the paste. Then I could try to clean what was left of the old frost off. Where can you get the paste? It took me forever to find the frost stuff.

 

[Sean Lindstrom]

True etching means the surface of the acrylic is eaten off, and textured. Dremel, laser, or chemical will do it. Whatever happens, the frosting must go first.

The usual paste for glass etching is called "Armour Etch" and available at craft or glass shops. But I checked and Armour Etch does not etch acrylic, only glass. Every town has a few glass shops that sell custom cut panes... not very expensive... something to consider.

If your design is all lines without solid etched areas, and you don't mind a freehand look, then a toothed metal Dremel bit is probably the way to go. This will plough narrow grooves into the acrylic. You could even keep the frost while you work through it.

You could order a new window, etched by a laser etching service.

I couldn't find any chemical products for etching acrylic. But that only means nobody sells anything competitive with common solvents that etch, or cloud, acrylic. Acetone is a solvent that etches acrylic nicely. It's actually used to weld acrylic. It won't eat right through, but it gives acrylic a porous, finely textured, white surface. You'll need to make a cream of this viscous liquid though so it's workable, and doesn't run under your masking. Mix it with flour I guess. Acetone should be available anywhere paints are sold, and it's cheap.

 

[Brundle Fly]

The usual paste for glass etching is called "Armour Etch" and available at craft or glass shops. But I checked and Armour Etch does not etch acrylic, only glass. Every town has a few glass shops that sell custom cut panes... not very expensive... something to consider.

Yeah, I can vouch for that, I tried Armour Etch on my plexi window, nothing happened. Strange, it eats through glass, but won't touch plexi.

 

[DeViL_909]

Well the main problem of replacing the pannels is that I made an all acrylic case. So making a new pannel is a little more trouble than i want to mess with due to the fact that I am at college now and all my tools are at home. Do you think the acetone would eat trough the frost that is already of there? To get an idea of what it looks like, their are tribal flames going from the front to the back of the case. The area is covered inside the flames. How hard is it to use a dremel to etch it. Any way you can give me an idea on what bit I should use?

 

[PopeAlexander]

Maybe you can use some carving tools and hand etch the acrylic, so that you dont deal with the melting the dremel will cause.

 

[el]

hydro fluoric acid for glass only. Sand blast the acrylic window.

 

[Sean Lindstrom]

Most likely acetone will eat through (dissolve) the frosting.

But I favour el's suggestion to sand blast. Maybe a place that does signs?

 

[DeViL_909]

After a lot of thinking and searching online, I found many windows that were done with dremels. It seems that if you take your time and do it right, then it comes out just fine. Since I am at college and straped for cash at the moment, this seems the best way. Plus I have some extra time. I am going to use an etching bit and will keep you all posted with before and after pics. THanks for the help everyone

 

[cjbnorg]

Sand Blasting

Most likely acetone will eat through (dissolve) the frosting.

But I favour el's suggestion to sand blast. Maybe a place that does signs?

I have been thinking about the sand blasting option myself. I know that many places that make memorials and monuments (tomb stones) can blast a photographic quality (B&W) image into stone. This is called a "PhotoBlast". They do this by making a film negative of the image and shining a bright light through it onto a special rubber. They glue the rubber onto the stone and sandblast it. The spots that got exposed to the light are either harder or softer (not sure which) than the areas that were masked by the film and didn't get exposed. The soft spots burn through quickly and expose the underlying stone to the sandblast while the hard spots remain and mask the stone under them. Then they scrape the rubber and glue off and reveal a photo quality image permanently engraved in the stone.

I would imagine that this could be done on plexi with a few modifications like the type of glue used and the air pressure in the gun.

I am planning on experimenting with this soon. I will let y'all know how it turns out.

If anyone else has tried this already let me know before I trash a piece of plexi for no reason. LOL

Take Care

 

[OleChris]

You might try sandblasting. You can buy the rubber masking, which will stick to the surface.

 

[cjbnorg]

The idea of the Photo Blasting is that you could VERY acurately transfer a computer designed image into the plexi. Even photographs.
How would you be able to get the Image into the rubber masking material you are talking about?

 

[OleChris]

The idea of the Photo Blasting is that you could VERY acurately transfer a computer designed image into the plexi. Even photographs.
How would you be able to get the Image into the rubber masking material you are talking about?

I wasn't referring to photo blasting. A form can be sandblasted into almost any media, but the gradation required for photo blasting would rule this method out. For a simple design, the design can be cut out of the rubber masking material and pasted onto the media (the rubber masking material has an adhesive backing". This method is used in etching marble monuments.

 

[Electron Chaser]

Well the main problem of replacing the pannels is that I made an all acrylic case. So making a new pannel is a little more trouble than i want to mess with due to the fact that I am at college now and all my tools are at home. Do you think the acetone would eat trough the frost that is already of there? To get an idea of what it looks like, their are tribal flames going from the front to the back of the case. The area is covered inside the flames. How hard is it to use a dremel to etch it. Any way you can give me an idea on what bit I should use?

They make an attachment for the dremel tool. The tile cutting kit. obviously you would use these bits This would allow you to set the height for your etching tool head and keep it flat against the acrylic and then allow you to just draw it out following your trace lines. This way you won't ever go to deep and gouge the plastic.