Monday 18 July 2011

LANT 2 - boo hiss!

I decided to get working on another Learn a New Technique project.  I'd bought some glass etching cream and vinyl a few months ago but never used them.  I'd also picked up a plain vase for 50p at a charity shop and decided that would be my first project.  I cut out the vinyl on my Sizzix and put it on the vase which took ages.  I added the cream, waited 1 minute as it said on the jar and washed it off.  Nothing had happened so I dried it off, put more of the cream on and left it for 5 minutes this time.  The result?


Rubbish!  You can barely see the etching and it's very patchy.  Here's a close up on my blue chair:




Not one to be beaten (straight away anyway), I pulled out one of the vases that were centre pieces at our wedding and tried again with a different die.  This time I dolloped the cream on and left it for half an hour.  The result?



Rubbish!  It's patchy again!  To do a whole vase would take a whole jar of the cream and at a tenner a go, I don't think that'll be happening!


Has anyone got any idea where I went wrong?  I haven't given up LANTing but I think I might have given up glass etching... now I need to find a use for that sticky back vinyl!

6 comments:

Hands Sew Full said...

Wow, how discouraging! I have always wanted to try glass etching but not if it is a nightmare to do! Time is a hot commodity and I like to try new things that work well! Thanks for sharing this inside scoop on glass etching!

Samantha said...

What kind of etch cream did you use? I always use Armor. The first time I tried glass etching it was very light and kinda patchy too. But the next time I left it on for 5 minutes as a friend suggested. I made sure to put a very thick coating on...I also held it up to the light to make sure no light would come through. It worked great...so I do this everytime now. I also scrape as much cream back into the bottle before I rinse it off in the sink. I wouldn't give up. There are a lot of great things you can do with glass etching, as I am sure you know ;-) If you try again let me know how it works!

Sydney said...

When I was in school, we were told to use that stuff just for smaller things like accents and whatnot.. When we used it for large areas, it always turned out patchy..

Allie said...

Oh bummer, I don't like things that don't work right, lol!

Sandra :) said...

I admire you for trying new projects so fearlessly! I've always wanted to try this particular craft myself, but not if it's a royal PITA! The hint I've always heard is what Samantha says - put on a REALLY thick coating and scrape it back into the container afterwards. Maybe you could pick up some cheap glassware at the thrift store and try again?

Cuckoo said...

I didn't even know you could etch glass at home! What a shame it didn't work out very well. I'd leave the stuuff on for AGES as whats the worst that could happen? A hole in your vase. Not likely. Have another go....but then again maybe you have and I haven't read that far yet.

xxx