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Here's a fun project.  It uses some sort of acid.  Being a chemist, this is definitely going to be one of the favorite crafting tools.
Material: I bought Martha Stewart Glass Etching Kit by Plaid at Michaels using a 50% off coupon.  It's ~$30, so 50% off helps out  quite a bit.  I also purchased glass paint.
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The kit comes with a little  bottle of etching cream, brush, stenciles and gloves.

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First trial: I put "be mine" stencil (also Martha's product.....believe me, I'm not a fan....Michaels is taken over by her branded products lately and they're often on sale....and I must admit, it's packaged prettier than other cheaper brands). 
I brushed on the cream over "be mine". 15 min later, my baby jar is etched nicely.

Note: I did try this first on a test tube. As I suspected, they are acid resistent, so this cream won't work.  Glad to know that cheap glassware from Amazon is still good enough for simple chemistry projects!
Lesson here is to remember, this cream will not etch any glass.  Glasses are not created the same.  If they were, why would Corning hire highly paid scientists for R&D!

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Stick stencil & etch method is pretty easy.  I wanted to see if I can do reverse designs where I create a resist of stencil pattern and etch around. 
First resist material tried: Sharpie. I read about it here
1. Place stencil and color with Sharpie

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2. Take stencil off and create a boarder using the edges of stencil sheet.  BTW, Sharpie on glass look pretty.

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3. When putting etching cream on wear gloves.  I would recommend covering the surface area in case of spill. Don't do this over a glass surface.....like a glass table.

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4. After 15 min, wash wearing gloves.  Sharpie washes off during this step.

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5. Finished product.  I can see that I really should have put on a second coat of Sharpie....

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Second resist material tried: Foam paint
Bad idea.  This paint reacts with etching cream!

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Although in a few minutes, etching worked out and the result was actually better than the Sharpie.

Some thoughts: I like this a lot!  I would get nitrile gloves for the next time. Also, Sharpie works well enough if applied well.  Apparently for baby food jars, this cream works in a few minutes....good to know.
Useful link: Martha Stewart's video tutorial, MSDS
Sandra
7/15/2013 11:03:18 pm

What a great post, thanks for sharing! I was all set to try my new etching cream with a stencil, but the idea of adding a resist adds a whole new dimension. I love your scientific approach to the process :)

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9/22/2014 07:05:11 pm

The importance of science in our daily lives may not be obvious, yet we make science-based choices every day.

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11/2/2015 09:55:01 am

This is very much a work in progress whenever I find out about one who is more beautiful than any of these I will add her and kick out number ten Thanks for sharing the informative post.
Regards

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