DIY Frosted Glass?
Hey all: We’re moving along in our upstairs bathroom which now has two plain glass vinyl double pane windows. Someone suggested to us that in lieu of curtains/blinds (or possibly in addition to) that we might consider using a chemical to ‘frost’ the glass. Anyone have any experience doing this? Can it be done without…
Hey all:
We’re moving along in our upstairs bathroom which now has two plain glass vinyl double pane windows. Someone suggested to us that in lieu of curtains/blinds (or possibly in addition to) that we might consider using a chemical to ‘frost’ the glass. Anyone have any experience doing this? Can it be done without prior practice?
Hydroflouric acid etches glass – its what was used by glass makers in the past (maybe still is, dunno). Its also why its sold in non-glass containers.
But the best solution may be to hire a glazier to replace the glass with properly frosted glass.
You can also get frosted glass to order from a glass shop. We have a bathroom window that is 2/3 frosted and the top 1/3 clear. We specified it from the glaser (? not sure if that is the right term) and they installed it. I am sure it was not expensive. Good luck.
Denton, you are probably joking about pouring it down the drain but in case you are not… DON’T.
I don’t have experience with the etching cream, but I do have a story of the HCl (Hydrocloric Acid, a.k.a. muriatic, used for cleaning masonry, among other things).
Here’s my story. When we bought our park slope brownstone 5 years ago the previous owner left a 5 gallon drum of HCl in the basement. He was supposed to clear it out but didn’t. I believe he said he used it to clean floors before refinishing, not sure.
A couple of months ago I noticed all the metal in the basement near the corner where the acid was stored started to rust. Pipes, light fixtures, cabinets, any bare metal. Eventually I traced the problem to the drum of acid — the seal had rotted out.
I dragged the drum out of the basement and put it in the garden until I could figure out what to do with it. I called 311, DSNY wouldn’t take it, said I’d have to call a waste disposal contractor and gave me the number of one. The contractor said it would be $250 minimum to dispose of it.
I started googling around and found a thread where some folks talked about using various basic powders to neutralize it. Eventually I settled on Baking Soda. In 2 batches I poured the acid into a larger dub and added Arm & Hammer until it stopped bubbling.
In all it took about 45 pounds of Baking Soda to neutralize the acid. If you tried to buy baking soda in Park Slope at that time, you now know why there wasn’t any at either Key Food or Associated.
Before I did this I ran it by my father in law who is a engineer and he said I would end up with NaCl — table salt. Which a poured down the drain with a lot of water…
Anyway the main point of all this as it relates to your project is that the acid will eat right through the metal pipes if you pour it down the drain.
Thanks guys. The acid sounds daunting for the first time I use it, and then there’s the question of what to do with any leftovers. I guess it would clean out the drains pretty well. MM, thanks, I’ll look into those films.
There are also some decent really thin plastic films you can get that look like etched, frosted or stained glass. They adhere to the window glass.
I know – sounds like cheap crap, but that’s the stuff Home Depot sells. There are some better products out there now. Check Outwater.com or Google window or glass film.
My uncle used to do custom glass etching as a hobby. For large areas he used a sand blaster.
If all you want to do is etch up a plate of glass, pick up a bottle of “etching cream” at a crafts store. This stuff can be pretty nasty to work with though. The old school stuff is made with hydrofluoric acid.
there’s a Krylon window frosting spray that I’ve used in the past. Its fine for a stop gap and it lasted a long time.
There’s glass etching cream- probably too expensive to use over that large an area but you could etch some beautiful patterns in the glass. I forget the active chemical- does muriatic acid sound right to you?