A file to try for Glass Etching Engraving

[Bill Cunningham]

Glass Etching/Engraving can be a challenge. 75% of getting a good etch with lots of detail is in proper photo preparation. Photo Prep . is not something that can really be taught, you have to develop your own eye so to speak.. Once you have a good greyscale photo whether you use photograv, The Gold Method, or one of the various screens available in photo paint or Picture Publisher your ready to put it to the glass.. The method I use was developed via trial and error over the years, but many of the general methods of glass etching also work well. The favorite is a coat of thick dish soap. The whole secret it would seem is to get a dot as small as possible, without excessive micro spalling of the surface. A nice clean dot is what you want, and every machine has a different way of producing it.. So... For those of you that would like to try etching a file that has already been tweaked so all you have to do is concentrate on the etching speed/power/etc.. You can try the one attached.. I did this one quite a while ago on a scrap piece of 2mm glass (you can see the missing chunk at the top left and the crack). It has super incredible detail and etches well.. Have fun, and experiment. Glass is my favorite medium to work on.. The file link below links to a file that was too large to upload here so it's coming from one of my my own sites.. It etches to a size of 5" x 5" @ 300 dpi It's a 2bit monochrome file, so Don't change the size or it will not etch correctly
GlasFly.jpg

Click this link for the 2bit Engraving file (or right click to download)

[Paul Phillips]

Bill,
thank you very much for sharing this along with all your expert advice that you are so generous with. I haven't had a need to work with glass in my business yet but am interested in giving it a try, for us complete glass noobs, is there any particular type that you would recommend to start with that is maybe easier than another (do I just ask for any old scrap pieces to experiment on) and do you typically paint the glass first?
Thanks again,
Paul

[Bill Cunningham]

Bill,
thank you very much for sharing this along with all your expert advice that you are so generous with. I haven't had a need to work with glass in my business yet but am interested in giving it a try, for us complete glass noobs, is there any particular type that you would recommend to start with that is maybe easier than another (do I just ask for any old scrap pieces to experiment on) and do you typically paint the glass first?
Thanks again,
Paul

The glass I usually use is nothing special, just ordinary window glass available just about everywhere. Never let a broken window go to waste. Just use a glass cutter to section it up, and cut it to standard sizes. I use mostly 8x10 and 5x7 to fit ordinary frames. There is no paint involved on these, the image is etched directly into the glass. Glass has no contrast, and etched as a negative, so it depends entirely on the darker background behind the glass to provide the contrast needed to make the negative look like a positive. I usually remove the glass from a frame, and replace it with the engraving, (the etched surface goes to the back so you can clean the facing side with ordinary window cleaner) and place a piece of black paper behind it. The fly engraving was photographed against the grey backing on the reverse side of a mirror. The grey paint on the back was sort of a neutral grey and provided a decent contrast. Any dark background will usually do, the background I used for the groundhog etched for the current photo contest was just the dark green wall of my shop. Once you have experimented for a while, and discover the setting that works best for you, that same setting will work on just about any type of glass. If the glass has been painted or coated with something, you will obviously have to adjust your settings to take that extra bit of power required to cut through that coating into consideration.
Anyone that is interested in etching glass, I urge them to engrave the fly at several settings and see what works for you. For wood, you could use the same file, but you would have to invert it back to a positive image before engraving, or it's gonna look weird unless it's engraved to a dark wood..

[David Rust]

Bill,
Do you have the original picture? I want to process the original and see if what I get is close to the file you posted.
Sometimes I have problems getting a good conversion, it may be the original pic and sometimes it is how I process it.

Thanks,

[Mary Geitz]

Thanks for sharing your technique. That is amazing (and a little gross).

[Bill Stearns]

Bill C. & All -
One thing I learned the hard way: make certain that customers fully understand that images on glass don't show up clearly without a darkened background of some sort. 'While back I engraved three 12" x 24" glass panels with beautiful wooded scenery, deer, etc. - all three turned out nice 'n very detailed. (These were to be inserted over French Doors dividing two rooms.) Customer picked 'em up that night and loved the way they turned out. But, called me the next day to complain that he couldn't easily see the images once installed. (Bill - you've taught me to wipe oil-based white paint on my granite tiles - will applying a paint of some sort resolve this glass issue in the future? I'm not clear on this.) - maybe, Cermark?

Bill

Bill

[Tim Bateson]

Thanks Bill C. Great tutorial.

...will applying a paint of some sort resolve this glass issue in the future? I'm not clear on this.) - maybe, Cermark? l

Bill S., Paint the back of the glass (engraving side) before you engrave, if you want a background. Then if you want your engraving to show as colored you can paint that color after engraving. I've not done a lot of glass panels, but this works great with mirrors.

[Bill Stearns]

Tim -
Off topic 'bit, I bought some Krylon Double Thick (UV?) spray today. Think you're the one who suggested it. ? Or, maybe, it was Frog Juice you had mentioned, and Krylon came up in the discussion? Anyway, says it gives materials, including wood, a deep glossy finish. Can't wait to find out! I've tried everything else under the sun: lacquers, polyurethanes, etc.

Bill

[Bill Cunningham]

Bill,
Do you have the original picture? I want to process the original and see if what I get is close to the file you posted.
Sometimes I have problems getting a good conversion, it may be the original pic and sometimes it is how I process it.

Thanks,

I'll see if I still have it..It's prob still in the computer someplace.. It's on my shop computer I'll try to remember to upload it tomorrow. As for coloring the final engraving, I have never tried it. It's a negative image, unlike a mirror which would be a positive image, so you may have to do a bit of experimenting. Usually a room beyond a etched glass panel is dark enough to provide most of the contrast needed. Tell them to paint the room a darker color.... Problem solved

[Dave Sheldrake]

.It's prob still in the computer someplace

In a folder called "Do Not delete" or "Random stuff" or "Err backups" or even "kuhiouhdso" if you were in a hurry Bill

cheers

Dave

[Glen Monaghan]

or even "kuhiouhdso" if you were in a hurry Bill

Okay, I'll bite...

[Dave Sheldrake]

random hitting the keyboard when like me you cannot touch type

[Glen Monaghan]

ah, ok. I was trying to come up with some acronym (such as wysiwyg) or a misplaced hands ytsmd[pdoyopm ("transposition" typed with both hands misplaced 1 key to the right).

[Bill Cunningham]

The file is a 2.15 meg .bmp and won't upload (too big?)..
Any one that wants it, send me a PM with your email and I'll send it to you..