Etching Dichroic Glass To
Create Original Designs
Etching dichroic fusing glass can be easily done at home with etching cream or by the use of a small engraving tool to remove areas of the dichroic coating. Using these methods you can produce unique one of a kind designs. Armour Etch Cream is available from Delphi Glass. Dichroic glass is sold in a wide range of colors and patterns, rippled and dimpled dichroic are not really suited for etching, you need flat dichroic on a black base for the best results. Ensure that the dichroic and other glass you may fuse it to are the same COE. A pattern can be formed on the glass by the use of stencils, masking tape, marking pens such as Sharpee or Stadetler. The pens are used to draw a design on the glass and to prevent the etching cream removing the dichroic coating from under the ink. You can use commercially bought stencils or make your own from masking tape by cutting designs in the tape and then sticking it to the dichroic, make sure the sticker or masking tape is securely fastened before applying the etching cream. Clean the glass properly before applying cream.
If you use a pen to draw a design ensure that all the design area is covered with ink, as the cream will remove the coating from all the unprotected areas.Wearing gloves, apply the cream over the glass and leave for a few minutes as per the makers' instructions. The cream will dissolve the unprotected dichroic coating so that after you rinse the cream from the item and remove the stencil material you will have a dichroic pattern surrounded by black glass where the coating has been removed. If you have a small engraving tool, dremel moto-tool or flex shaft you can draw designs in the dichroic coating rather than use etching cream. You can now fuse the glass as per normal in your glass fusing kiln.
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