Etch Your Own Cocktail Set (Glass Etching)

May 29th, 2007
Two glass etched martini glasses with olive designs and the words 'Swank' and 'Swell'

Make your own personalized cocktail set by etching glass. Here's how...

Materials

  • Inexpensive glassware (from the discount store, thrift shop, or your kitchen cupboard)
  • Etching Cream (I use Armor Etch)
  • Something to mask the areas that you don't want etched, such as Masking tape
  • Vinyl adhesive shelf-liner
  • Vinyl (or vinyl-like) stickers
  • Glass cleaner with ammonia
  • Rubber gloves
  • Foam brushes
  • Index cards or craft sticks

Masking the Design

Cocktail glass masked off with tape and stickers for etching The most time-consuming part of this process involves masking the areas of the glass that you do not want etched - and thus creating your design. For masking, you can use removable masking tape, Contact paper, stickers, or sticker-stencils sold just for this purpose.

Stickers are the easiest method of masking, and they are particularly great for letters. There are lots of great vinyl letter alphabets available at scrapbooking stores (as well as other sticker types). Just remember that it doesn't matter what the colored design is -- all that matters is the outline of the sticker. And if you're looking for an alphabet, you want one that has the "insides" cut out -- like the center of the letter O. Also, avoid the newer matte-paper finish stickers, because the etching cream will dissolve them.

Contact paper is the best for truly custom designs. You can apply the contact paper to your glass (this is much easier with a "straight up and down" style of glass), draw your design onto the paper, then use a craft knife to cut along the lines. Just peel away the vinyl where you want the glass etched.

You can also use paper punches to punch out shapes in the contact paper, then apply them to the glass. This is what I did to create the olive design on my martini glasses. I used a ring punch by Emagination, plus a small circle punch by EK Success.

Whatever method you use, be sure to:

  1. Clean the glass thoroughly to remove fingerprints.
  2. Apply the masking.
  3. Burnish the masking down to remove any air bubbles.

Etching the Glass

Once you've gone through the laborious process of prepping the glass, you're ready for the fast process of etching:

  1. Clean the exposed areas of the glass again to remove any oils left by your hot little hands. Then, trot yourself over to a well-ventilated area. I mean it!
  2. Apply the etching cream to the glass with the foam brush, following the manufacturer's directions. Make sure you are applying it liberally -- you shouldn't be able to see through the cream.
  3. Leave the glassware to set so that the acid can start eating away. Often you can leave it longer than advised (I found 10-15 minutes worked well for me).
  4. After the etching time is up, remove the excess etching cream using an index card or craft stick and put it back in the jar. Etching cream is expensive but it is also reusable; no need to waste it.
  5. Wash your glassware off in warm water. Once all traces of the etching cream is gone, peel off your masking to expose the un-etched areas. Beautiful! YOU ARE SO CLEVER I CAN'T STAND IT!

Caution & Gotchas

Etching cream is an acid. It will eat your skin off if you let it get on you. Protect your eyes with safety glasses. Wear rubber gloves (I used "chemical resistent" gloves, but I don't think that you have to buy special ones). Keep the cream and any glass being processed away from children and animals. Do not eat.

Do not rinse acid-coated glasses in a porcelain sink. It will etch your sink. This is widely known as not a good thing.

It's harder to mask curvy glass -- the kind that curves in two directions. You'll have more fun if you choose glasses that are more linear for your first projects.

Tips, Tricks, and Recommendations

The Class A'Peels sticker line is great for glass etching. The stickers are like vinyl, so they don't come off during the etching process.

You can use decorative scissors to cut neat edges in masking tape, then apply that in stripes to your glass.

You can do the same thing with Sand Etch, but I can't tell you how, because I don't have Sand Etch.

Note: This is another "best of AlixNorth.com" post. I first posted it in 2004 on an earlier version of this site. I had to repost it as I get so many visitors looking for the glass etching instructions. If anyone does glass etching based on this project info, post a comment and let me know how it worked out!

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On May 30th, 2007 LynneM says:

Love these glasses Alix! I might just try and make some myself:) But, I will go more for wine glasses...me and martini's don't quite get along:)

On May 30th, 2007 alix says:

Hi Lynne, you know, you can get glass coffee mugs inexpensively at
places like Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Those are fun to etch -- I did a
whole passel of them a year ago as gifts.

First, I used vinyl sticker letters (like I did for 'Swank' and 'Swell') to spell a person's name on the mug. Then I took some blue painter's tape and tore along the long side of it to create a ragged edge. I put four pieces of of tape down on the glass to frame the name, in the shape of a rectangle, with the ragged edges toward the inside. Then I put the etching cream inside the rectangle and along the edges.

The result was a ragged-edged frosted rectangle with clear letters spelling the recipient's name -- very easy and well-received. I think I made 15 or 20.

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