Fun With Sand (Glass Etch)

 FIRST, keep in mind, white silica sand is nasty stuff to breathe. As such, you need an HONEST respirator to do this, and not just an N95 or handkerchief. I even blew myself off after each project, and had a dedicated space, where I could contain all the sand. 

These, ALL, were done just using a 1 hp, Craftsman air compressor running 45 PSI (half that for the shading, so you sneak into the shading).

The air compressor pushed air through a cheap, siphon feed sandblaster.  I, now, have a pressure pot and used it to do a couple doors for friends. It might be great for carving (using a 3-M or equivalent resist medium (the thing you put your pattern on and cut out, so the sand can etch the glass or plastic)), but it went through 100 pounds in no time. My siphon blaster would have used far less and lasted FAR longer.

For all of these, I used common, white, silica sand. The kind used in cement work and available at big box stores.  It has to be kept dry, or you'll get sputtering and clumps of sand, instead of a smooth stream. In short, your project might not survive.

Because I ran at such low air pressure, compared to the folks doing amazing work that includes actual shaping of glass, I did all of these just using common contact paper. My preference was a kind of cream color. It showed ink pen lines far better than even white.

To draw pattern, I've used carbon paper and even taped a photo to the back of something and resorted to clear contact. Now, I have two opaque projectors that can blow up a belt buckle, like was used to do the bucking bull and horse (done on the back of a guy's 4x4). They allowed me to go all the way down to details like the checks in the cowboy's shirt.

The point of all this is, to show others they can bring a whole new game to their woodworking and other projects (e.g., see photos I posted of my old truck (69 Chev step side) I used to drive about forty years ago).

TIP: I use Exacto knives. You'll find you'll break a tip in seconds. After all, who cares if you scratch the glass, and you have to insure all your cuts are complete, so you don't lift the wrong part of the contact paper or other resistance. Instead of swapping blades and going through a lot of them, just have a cheap 400 grit diamond stone on hand to shape a tip back onto the blade and sharpen that. It's quick, easy and will last. Mine is years old.