Armour Etch Glass Etching Cream - Create Stunning Designs on Glass Surfaces - Etching Cream for Glass by Armour Products - 22 oz Net Weight

This is the best for etching. Love the results.Easy to use, but please wear gloves otherwise you could burn yourself.

I have a vinyl cutter and decided I wanted to try glass etching. This stuff works fabulously! My process was to cut my design in adhesive backed vinyl, weed out the parts of the design I wanted to etch, apply clear transfer tape to the front of the design, peel off the backing paper on the vinyl, apply it to the glass I wanted to etch, carefully peel off the transfer tape, apply a thick coat of the Armour Etch Cream using a foam pouncer, wait at least 5 minutes, wash the cream off with running water and then remove the vinyl. Here are some tips to get the best results: 1. Make sure the glass is very clean. I wipe it well with rubbing alcohol to ensure there are no oils that would prevent the etching cream from etching evenly. 2. Rub the vinyl hard to make sure every edge is completely adhered to the glass. If it isn't, the cream can bleed under the edges. 3. Apply the cream thickly and as evenly as possible. I pounce it on rather than brush it to avoid brush marks in the etch. Make sure it's so thick that you cannot see through it at all. 4. The directions say to leave it on for 5 minutes but longer is fine and makes a deeper, more frosted etch. 5. Work on a covered surface and wear gloves. If this cream gets on anything else, it will etch it, too. Remember, this is an acid that is strong enough to etch glass! Also, I suggest working in a well ventilated area. I do it on my front porch. You can etch all sorts of things. Some I have etched are glass tumblers, mugs and steins, glass dinner plates and platters, glass bakeware, mirrors, canisters, jars, bottles and window glass. Etching your name onto platters and bakeware ensures it gets returned to you. Etching names and monograms onto simple glass mugs or plates turns them into fabulous gifts. This is a fairly big bottle of etching cream and even applied thickly, it will etch a lot of glass.

It's a little pricey on Amazon, can get it cheaper at local craft stores when they offer coupons. It is a decent product, better than other brand's glass etching creams in the sense you get more for your money and it takes less time to work. Armor Etch is not reusable once it has dried so after the initial thick layer being applied and then wiped off and put back into the bottle it only takes a little bit to achieve the frosted, etched look. It works in just a couple of minutes. One drawback is that the more times it is opened and exposed to air it forms crystals and these crystals will make darker spots on your project so they cannot be left on the glass. It is possible to eliminate the crystals by placing the bottle in warm water before each use and then shaking vigorously for several minutes to mix the broken particles. Because of the shape of the bottle it is almost impossible to stir the cream. The photo is a wine glass that I etched the word Aquarius and dotted. It is difficult to get good photos of etched glass but hopefully you can see the design well enough.

I could not get it to etch my suit of armour regardless of how much I used! Seriously though, this stuff works great for etching glass, some metals and removing certain coatings from some plastics. Please though, if you buy this stuff, I cannot stress enough that you need to be super careful with this. Make sure you wear protective gloves and eyewear! If you are using anything but the smallest amounts, it is best to use it outdoors or at the very least wear a respirator that is rated for use with Hydroflouric Acid (it has different requirements for respirators than other strong acids.) It is made from some VERY VERY nasty acids. All of which convert to Hydroflouric Acid via differing routes and that is some potentially very seriously disastrous stuff to work with! If you get this stuff on you, make sure you grab a phone to call your local poison control office to see if they recommend going to the emergency room! I am not kidding! Hydroflouric Acid can KILL you in not so large amounts via skin absorption alone. If you get some into your eyes, just call 911 immediately and then the poison control for further direction if not provided by 911.

I am very pleased with this product. I recently started experimenting with different media types and I must say that this one is very easy and such a great way to make personalized gifts for friends and family. I use this in combination with my die cutting machine and the result is wonderful unique items. You have to be sure to follow the instructions when using as it is an actual acid. I did not give this item 5 stars only because the etching cream does not etch as deeply as I thought it would...otherwise it is a great product.

This is an amazing product. Though it can get expensive buying a bunch of stencils, especially those press and stick single use etch stencils with the stick adhesive on them that they show in all the videos. I use two inchmasking tape. I cove my glass in that and i draw my work right onto the tape and then cut out what needs to be cut out with an exacto. it doesnt scratch the glass as a lot of people thing it would, and even if it did..the etch cream will be etching right up to it so you'd never notice anyway. but it doesnt....so it saves me a fortune on stencil material and after i rinse off the cream..the wet tape comes right off. Now about the product.. you do have to put a decent amount on to cover the apllied areas so that you cant see through the cream at the glass underneath. it seems the more cream, the deeper it will etch so if the coverage isnt smooth, the etching will look shotty in the light. I reccommend using a brush to quickly cover the whole area as quick as you can so that all areas will start the etching process at about the same time. then go immediately back and fill in any showing areas with extra product. I also do not recommend this for large projects unless you are doing it in very small sections at a time. I found that by the time i got all the cream on..the one side had been on for almost a minute while the side i finished was just starting the etch process. you have to be careful not to leave the cream on much longer than a minute or two or you risk the cream etching its way under your stencil.

Exactly what I ordered arrived on time

This stuff is awesome! I used 651 vinyl to cut a stencil out. Then applied it to a glass beer mug, using transfer tape. I then removed the transfer tape & applied the Armour Etch Cream quite thickly using a sponge brush & dabbing it on, rather than brushing it on. I left the glass beer mug laying down for about 3-5 hours (photo attached). When I went back the armour etch cream had dried up. I simply washed it under running water, peeling the vinyl off as I did that. Then when all the cream & vinyl was off I dried the beer mug off. I posted the results as a photo too. It came out amazing & was so easy to do! I will be buying more in the future, but a little goes a long way so not for a while!