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I have a very happy customer that has passed my name on to one of his customers who wants his logo etched into some doors that have tempered glass. I have sandblasted cheap wine glasses for myself and have sandblasted small signfoam signs so I want to try etching these doors and other glass. Is there anything that I really need to know or be aware of before I do this.
-------------------- Laura Butler Vision Graphics & Sign 4479 Welch Rd Attica, Mi 48412 Posts: 2855 | From: Attica, Mi, USA | Registered: Nov 2000
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Laura, a Paasche Air Eraser will etch window glass without harming a tempered lite just using aluminum oxide. I don't believe this can be done with a sand blaster.
-------------------- HotLines Joey Madden - pinstriping since 1952 'Perfection, its what I look for and what I live for'
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WARNING! Do NOT blast deep! Tempering puts a stress on the surface of the glass so that, while it is much more resistant to breakage, when it does break it will litterally explode (or Implode) into a thousand small cubes. The tempering only extends down about the thickness of intermediate vinyl - go past that and you will get a big surprise.
SONGPAINTER Original Sign Music by Sign People NOW AVAILABLE on CD and the proceeds go to Letterville's favorite charity! Click Here for Sound Clips! Posts: 1974 | From: Orleans, MA, Cape Cod, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Joey has the answer using the paasche airbrush blaster with aluminum oxide, it works great for small areas.
I done a lot of sandblasting on tempered glass for a horse show once, 1/4 inch glass panels. I used the regular silica sand with a suction setup (no pressurized sand barrel), It takes a lot of sand to get anywhere, but if your in a clean area, you can sweep it up and re-use it. It doesnt cut very deep either.
Now with the paasche airbrush blaster and aluminum oxide, you can dang near burn a hole clean through 1/4 inch glass. Aluminum oxide is kind of expensive though, last time i bought some I think it was about 15 bucks for 5 lbs, and you cant re-use it, it's too fine, like dust.
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These are the comments that I was looking for. About how much does a Paasch cost? Is sliding glass doorwalls tempered. If so, I can practice on some at home as I have them on my walk-out green house.
-------------------- Laura Butler Vision Graphics & Sign 4479 Welch Rd Attica, Mi 48412 Posts: 2855 | From: Attica, Mi, USA | Registered: Nov 2000
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I think I paid about 80 for mine , but that was about 8 years ago. the great thing about using one of those is you can also draw with it just like an airbrush. If you get one, get an extra tip cause they wear out pretty fast.
If your door is old its probably not tempered, dont blast it too deep.
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Laura, I have blasted many tempered panels without one failure. I use a regular blasting outfit, and not an air eraser. I suppose they are fine for little jobs. My experience is that their is a LOT of difference from one temper to the next and some you will stand on for an hour to get blast coverage. Regular glass blasting should blast about a square foot in less than a minute. The last tempered job took about 20 minutes per square foot with at larger sandblaster. Be very careful not to underbid tempered jobs. The masks will also break down before you get a complete blast. I would try a sample if possible before proceeding, but remember: Their is a lot of diffence from one temper to another on hardness. Bronzeo
-------------------- "Don't change horses in midstream, unless you spot one with longer legs" bronzeo oti Jack Davis 1410 Main St Joplin, MO 64801 www.imagemakerart.com jack@imagemakerart.com Posts: 1549 | From: Joplin, MO | Registered: Mar 2000
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