Glass Etching an Old Picture Frame: Wheel of Time Quote

I started this project because I wanted to etch a vase to give to my wife for Mothers Day. It turned out really nice so I decided to do another project to document the process. I'll add a bonus step with some pictures of the vase at the end if anyone is interested. I'm also doing a giveaway that ends May 31, 2017 for a bottle of the etching cream i'll link below. The giveaway is not associated with Instructables or Armour Etch itself.

https://gleam.io/awA85/kaged-creations-glass-etchi...

What you'll need:

Etching Cream - I used Armour Etch
Acid Brush - I've seen those sponge brushes used as well but I think the acid brush gives the best results
Glass - I used an old cheap picture frame I had laying around and a vase but should work on any glass
Gloves - I didn't wear any because I felt comfortable without them but this can burn your skin if you are not careful
Decals/stencils - You will use this to mark off the areas you wish to etch.
Ruler - This is helpful for layout
Razor Knife - to help remove detailed areas of your decals.

Step 1: Layout Your Project

The first thing you want to do is decide what you want to do and then lay it out on your glass. I chose a quote from one of my favorite book series The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. The full quote is actually "Death is lighter than a feather, and Duty is heavier than a mountain"

I wanted the feathers to be around the words so I spaced them around the central area and then laid out the letters using a ruler to attempt to keep them straight....A vinyl cutter would be great to use in this situation if you had one available.

For the feathers they were decals that had a clear backing so I needed to take a razor knife and cut out the small details to allow the etching cream to pick up those areas. So just be careful when selecting your decals and know you may need to add this extra step.

Step 2: Apply the Etching Cream

Now that you have your designed laid out, you need to apply the etching cream.

The instructions on the bottle indicated that you can leave on for one minute and then rinse. however i've found for the best results to apply a liberal amount of the Armour Etch and allowing it to stay on for five to ten minutes. During those minutes you can continue to brush more on and make sure all areas are covered.