Etching paste - first try!

This weekend's craft challenge was to try out my glass etching paste. I got this "armour etch" paste a while ago, after trying "actual" sandblasting at the International Festival of Glass over the summer.

It comes in a tiny bottle, you mask off the areas you want to keep as plain glass and paint the white paste over the bits you want to etch. I left it on for about half an hour before washing it off.

The first thing I tried was a pint glass. I think it was a bit over-ambitious! As you can see, the bits I actually painted over thoroughly came up much better than the bits I just dabbed at.



So I decided to have another go, with something a bit more simple ...



This is so much better - the etching is much more even and I like the way that the radiating stripes pick up the light.

Verdict: Definitely worth another go. I don't normally like the feel of sandblasted glass, but the paste is a bit smoother. Really not suitable for large areas (it said so on the bottle but I wasn't sure how large "large" was!).

Take the safety warning seriously - wear your rubber gloves and eye mask. It may also be a good idea not to use the paintbrush for anything else, even after you have washed it.

I also might try putting the paste into a squeezy bottle and drawing with it directly on the glass to make patterns that way.