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Glass Etching

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1.

Open design in Silhouette Studio®. Make sure you have plenty of room on the sides of your design to protect the surrounding glass. (If you don’t, you can place painters tape around the outside of the vinyl to prevent any etching cream from getting onto the glass.)

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2.

Load the stencil vinyl into your Silhouette. Select “Vinyl” from the Material drop-down menu in the Send panel, adjust the blade to the suggested settings, and click “Send.”

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3.

With the Silhouette hook tool, carefully remove the design from the vinyl, creating a stencil from the negative space. It can be tricky, but be sure you think “backwards” and remove the actual design.

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4.

Apply transfer tape over your design and use the scraper to remove any bubbles. Remove the vinyl backing. Make sure all the pieces of the stencil adhere to the transfer tape.

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5.

Apply the adhesive side of the vinyl to your clean, dry glass. Smooth the vinyl over the glass with the scraper tool, removing any bubbles.

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6.

Once you have the vinyl really secure, peel away the transfer tape. Make sure all the pieces of the stencil remain on the glass.

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7.

Using a cotton swab or the scraper tool, apply a thick and even layer of etching cream to the exposed glass. Let the cream set for 30 to 60 seconds. Wear protective gloves when working with glass etching cream and don’t get it in your eyes!

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8.

Carefully scrape the remaining cream back into the bottle. Wipe away any residual etching cream away with a paper towel and wash the glass thoroughly.

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9.

Peel the vinyl off the surface of the glass. Remove any fingerprints with glass cleaner.