Home › Forums › Explore Media › Glass Art › Let’s Talk › Glass Technical Forum › Etching Boro?
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March 18, 2004 at 9:37 am #984026
The next monthly exchange for the AzSGB is clear. We are only allowed to use clear glass. Sculpting and etching is allowed. I made several prototypes out of boro and tried to etch them last night.
Two of them were etched for 1 hour (yes, the bottle says 10 minutes). The flower was etched overnight. When I cleaned them up and looked at them this morning, there was nothing changed on the glass. That leads me to today’s question.
Do I need a different type of etch for boro?
Is my etch just ‘old / dead’?Any thoughts or comments (on this topic anyway) are welcome. Thoughts and comments on other topics are welcome in other threads or by PM.
Hal
Why do it if it isn't fun?
Finding the world in the smallness of a grain of sand
And holding infinities in the palm of your hand
And Heaven's realms in the seedlings of this tiny flower
And eternities in the space of a single hour
Sting (with a nod to William Blake)March 18, 2004 at 10:20 am #1026774There are only two ways I have figured to etch boro, either with sandpaper (yes I have done it) and sand blasting (not sure it will work). It is such a hard glass that the etching creams WON’T etch it….
Good luck!
Laura
March 18, 2004 at 10:33 am #1026782Sandpaper I could do. Sandblasting I could maybe do also, but I am not sure I have all the tools. I have the compressor and the sand. I have to look for the sprayer. . .
Or I could switch to Moretti for the challenge.
Thanks for the info!
Hal
Why do it if it isn't fun?
Finding the world in the smallness of a grain of sand
And holding infinities in the palm of your hand
And Heaven's realms in the seedlings of this tiny flower
And eternities in the space of a single hour
Sting (with a nod to William Blake)March 18, 2004 at 3:06 pm #1026777I’ve also tumbled boro for a matte finish. I believe I used 600 grit and tumbled for a few hours. Worked fine.
March 18, 2004 at 5:07 pm #1026783I’ve also tumbled boro for a matte finish. I believe I used 600 grit and tumbled for a few hours. Worked fine.
If I tumble them, is there a way to protect part so it doesn’t get the matte finish? I have specific parts that I want to etch. . .
Hal
Why do it if it isn't fun?
Finding the world in the smallness of a grain of sand
And holding infinities in the palm of your hand
And Heaven's realms in the seedlings of this tiny flower
And eternities in the space of a single hour
Sting (with a nod to William Blake)March 18, 2004 at 10:45 pm #1026779Boro is resistant to most acids you’d care to mess with. If I recall correctly from my college chemistry days, our storage bottles were Pyrex (brand name boro). So I think mechanical (blasting or abrading) would be your best bet if you want to stick with boro.
I just did a quick search and the one specific bit of info regarding wet etching of boro involved fluorosilicic (sand) acid. This stuff is really bad juice. When heated, can release hydrofluoric acid fumes, and it has a pH of 1. Yikes! It’s probably typical of compounds that will etch boro.
March 18, 2004 at 11:14 pm #1026784I did a double check on the beads I etched last night. The one I left overnight had a slight haze. I guess if I do repeated applications and leave them on long enough, it might work. I really don’t want to mess around with stronger acids.
Of course, they look really nice when left clear. . .
Thanks for the help!
Hal
Why do it if it isn't fun?
Finding the world in the smallness of a grain of sand
And holding infinities in the palm of your hand
And Heaven's realms in the seedlings of this tiny flower
And eternities in the space of a single hour
Sting (with a nod to William Blake)March 18, 2004 at 11:15 pm #1026776I have etched boro with etch all with no problems. I forget how long I let it sit, several hours to overnight I think. It works best with unencased boro colors.
Jami
March 19, 2004 at 4:01 am #1026781All the solids they add to color boro will make it easier to etch. Remember that Pyrex(boro) was designed to withstand lab chemicals and acids in high concentrations and at high temperatures. Any of the chemical that would etch clear boro in a reasonable amount of time you do not want in your home.
KurtMarch 19, 2004 at 9:40 am #1026780Are you friends with your dentist? It has its benefits. Great tools for sculpting glass… oh yes, back to the topic.
Some practices will have a MicroEtch in the office. Its a very small sandblaster that uses aluminum oxide and works quite well on clear boro. I blasted some things for a friend of mine.
If he/she does not have one your dentist could ask the lab they deals with for a favor and get the beads blasted. Or check the yellow pages for a dental lab that is close and see if they will do it.
Hope it works out, Aline
"You use tools? Like a man?" - Antoinette Dolan
March 19, 2004 at 12:13 pm #1026778If I tumble them, is there a way to protect part so it doesn’t get the matte finish? I have specific parts that I want to etch. . .
Hal
I really don’t know. Perhaps the same sort of masks that one would use for sandblasting would work.
March 19, 2004 at 2:51 pm #1026775Boro is resistant to most acids you’d care to mess with. If I recall correctly from my college chemistry days, our storage bottles were Pyrex (brand name boro). So I think mechanical (blasting or abrading) would be your best bet if you want to stick with boro.
I just did a quick search and the one specific bit of info regarding wet etching of boro involved fluorosilicic (sand) acid. This stuff is really bad juice. When heated, can release hydrofluoric acid fumes, and it has a pH of 1. Yikes! It’s probably typical of compounds that will etch boro.
Hi there, sweetie pie!
Hey you guys, this is the Prairieson that I’m always referring to. Good to see you posting, Cowboy…
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