I'd love to try it, and the equipment is cheap enough...but his mugs were VERY detailed...and I can't imagine that he cut a mask this detailed and weeded it for every mug....or could he have?

Anyone got some wisdom to share?

I'm also interested in what other types of projects can be done with sandblasting.

[url]www.rayzist.com [/url]

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I'm also interested in what other types of projects can be done with sandblasting

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If you've got a full size blaster and want to play, rubber stencils over colored ceramic mugs and ceramic tiles is very striking. Once you blast through the thin color coating, the inner ceramic is bone white.

I've done projects with tile arrangements that were blasted with a company name, gilded inside the blast (before the stencil was removed) and then set in a wall with mortar and grout. Very beautiful and permanent.

I used to own one of the air-erasers I mention above - it's like an airbrush but sprays out fine powder grit - that does very cool frosting to crystal and glassware using a vinyl stencil. Great for monograms and such as gifts.

Before I was even in the sign business I made my living in the custom car and van market doing airbrush and painting. I did a brisk side trade in sandblasting names and designs into their glass windshields and moonroofs and such. A word of caution - car glass is TEMPERED. Never blast more than about the thickness of 3 mil vinyl deep into it or you can get a rude surprise as it implodes with a loud bang.

For the home market, I've done my share of glass table tops and firepace screens. Two other notable projects were a fully stage blasted frosted glass headboard for a king size bed that was edge lit from below - so cool!, and a very large multi-paneled room divider with a flowing, frosted seaside 'mural'. It was 8'x12' overall and was in two layers too, separated by 4" so there was a foreground and background that interacted with each other as you walked down the length of it.

There were a couple commercial projects too, some corporate office stuff and restaurants. In those days (the 80's) my then-wife was doing stained glass and we collaborated on many projects. Some of her (our) leaded glass was featured in a scene from the Ron Howard movie Cocoon that was filmed in St. Petersburg, FL. It is the bank scene near the end where the Don Ameche character is withdrawing his savings from the bank. The leaded panels around the teller window and entrance doors are our work, which is pretty cool.

Ironic that you speak of this. We are hosting a one day seminar that will cover all that stuff...It will be held on October 28th after the big show in Fort Worth...and we still have 10 slots open..

The folks at Photoabrasive are going to set up and demonstrate along with Bob Pickard and his fancy Pab Blaster.

And if ya can't make it...their product is what ya need to get all that fine detail! Check out their web page on it!

[ September 26, 2001: Message edited by: Robert Beverly ]

Well, my plan is to check out the photo-stencil stuff from rayzist and photobrasive. I think that the equipment I have already will expose those little stencils just fine with a little trial-and-error.

There's a guy on eBay that has a little blast cabinet for about a hundred bucks. I think I'll get that and give this a try. Very neat ideas and replies!

Pricing glass is no different than any other custom process. It's GOT to meet time and materials guidelines FIRST. After that, it's supply and demand. If you get real popular and don't have time to keep up with the orders then the price goes up to meet the market. But with blasting glass, far more than with most sign processes, you always have to charge high because of the liability of breakage and the fact that you can't erase or paint over any mistakes. If you had $1000 worth of time and $200 in materials into a glass panel that broke while being installed, you'd feel pretty stupid if you only got $1200 for it, cuz you'll have $2400 into it before you're done - assuming you don't break it twice or make some other mistake.

After a few projects your materials and average times will become obvious. Square footage formulas are good for estimating only - same as with signs. Since actual cost depends heavily on the final design, about all you can hope to do with formulas is qualify prospects. "You want a 4'x6' panel with moderate intricasy, that'll end up somewhere in the $150/sq.ft.* range". If they're not prepared to cough up $3600 you'll know it pretty quick! And if they are prepared to spend, ask them for a couple hundred dollar design retainer right then!

*$150 is just a number out of thin air as an example.

So that's about all I know about pricing glass. My only other input about glass is shop around for your raw materials. Especially thick plate glass - varies widely in price depending on who is selling it to you. I've had four or more calls get the price dropped in HALF! Same for glass services like edge polishing and tempering. You want to be dealt with as a wholesale account. Polish up that business lisence and show them you're in the trade if you want any respect. Otherwise you're fresh meat.