What is sand blasted glass?
The process of sandblasting involves firing fine sand at the glass in order to create a translucent, cloudy appearance to the surface of the glass.
Can glass be sandblasted?
Sandblasting is more like air brushing or spray painting, where you're covering a large area at once, so the frosting is very even. You can also sandblast very deeply into glass, ceramic, or stone, but using a rotary tool with diamond burrs will only really be able to etch the very surface.
What is sandblasted glass used for?
Dividers, doors and shower surrounds are some of the most popular architectural uses of sandblasted glass. Sandblasting glass may help repel dirt build-up on shopping mall doors. Sandblasting effects on shower doors can create wonderfully frosted looks to compliment the appearance of any bathroom.
What is the benefits of sandblasted glass？
Whether it’s for an office partition, window, shower enclosure, or door, sandblasted glass is becoming an increasingly popular choice in design. For the home or office environment, it provides the perfect balance between transparency and privacy, all-in-one. Here’s how sandblasted glass can benefit your design.
PROVIDES PRIVACY
When you want an open-style design that provides you with the right amount of privacy, sandblasted glass can give you exactly that. Since the surface of the glass is sprayed with an abrasive media at high pressure, it produces a frosted-like surface that in essence, blurs out any details of figures behind it. So what you may see are shapes and shadows of objects or people, but nothing more.
BRIGHTENS A ROOM
For partition walls, this material and design is the perfect fit for substituting solid, impervious walls that provide the same function but with the added benefit of a brightened surface. Since the material is still glass, its reflective nature allows light to brighten up a space rather than darken it.
SAVES ON ENERGY
Although sandblasted glass is still reflective enough to brighten a room, since the surface level is frosted, the reflective nature of it is diffused. That means when light shines on the glass, there aren’t any intense rays penetrating through and heating up the area or room. So during those hot summers months, you can maintain a cooler internal temperature while savings on those energy bills.
CUSTOMIZED DESIGNS
This style of glass design has drastically improved over the years. Now, you can choose from a wide variety of custom designs to tailor the look to your specific needs. The translucent etched glass can be tailored with creative designs or patterns to bring that touch of extra flair and artistic design to any space.
INCREASES PROPERTY VALUE
From office space layouts to interior homes, sandblasted glass can increase the property value of the design with the combination of benefits that it provides. Aside from the aesthetic appeal, those energy savings, diffused light, and added privacy are all factors that bump up the value of a property.
If you’re in the market for that perfect shower door, partition wall, or glass door that will provide that perfect balance between privacy, openness, aesthetic appeal and reduce energy bills – sandblasted glass is the perfect choice. Contact M&T Glass today to help get your customized design started.
What is Acid-Etched Glass?
Acid-etched glass is annealed glass treated with acid to permanently change its appearance, making it smoother than sandblasted glass.
How do you clean acid-etched glass?
One of the best and most effective ways to clean acid-etched glass is with clean water and a soft sponge. Again, it sounds simple, and it is. However, if it will make you feel better, you can add a few drops of glass cleaner to the water. If you do so, always use standard glass cleaners that contain alcohol.
Sandblasted Glass Vs. Acid Etched Glass
We often have many people ask which decorative etched glass is better, but really it all depends on you and your wants! While the two glass products are similar in style, acid etched glass vs sandblasted glass, are actually very different when it comes to an end goal.
What is sandblasted glass and how is it different from acid etch glass?
Sandblasted and etched glass both use abrasives which create a frosted appearance on the glass. Sandblasting usually uses a high-speed machine that blasts down on the glass panel with sand, walnut husks or other materials to achieve its look. (It can also be done by hand!) Sandblast glass etching lets you choose the level of glass opaqueness that best fits your needs and is versatile in many ways when it comes to design.
Acid etched glass offers a wide variety of options, but the appearance is smoother. Etching glass with acid offers more finishes and various degrees of transparency than standard sandblasted glass. Another major difference between acid etch and sandblast is that light does not transmit through the acid etch as well as the sandblast when lighting up a piece of glass for accent purposes.
Gradients and Transparency
Whether you decide on sandblasted etched glass or acid etched glass one of the most significant benefits is its capability to be as transparent as you like. This is ideal for adding privacy in places like partitions, glass showers, office, or public spaces.
Glass gradients can start and end at any percentage such as a 20%-80% gradient or a perfectly clear glass panel fade into a 100% full frost with zero opacity.
Pros and cons of sandblasted glass etching and glass acid etching
As with any product both sandblasted frosted glass and acid frosted glass have their benefits and disadvantages.
Sandblasting:
A pro to sandblasting is that you can are pretty much guaranteed good quality etching and it will be completed within a decent amount of time. Also, designs are readily available and can be more detailed.
A con to sandblasting is the glass is more likely to leave fingerprint marks which do require a bit more maintenance when it comes to cleaning.
Acid Etching:
A pro to acid etched glass is that unlike sandblasted glass it is low-maintenance and less likely to leave fingerprint marks.
A con to acid etched glass is that it is not readily available due to the fact that the acid used is hazardous and often has to be produced overseas. Acid etching is also limited in custom designs.
All etched glass has the ability to get dirty and scuffed due to oils and dirt getting trapped inside the etched abrasions. This must be considered when choosing etched glass as to where it will be placed and how it will interact with the environment. Some coatings and precautions can be taken to block this type of damage such as when you etch glass shower doors or barn-doors or have etched panels in a public space.
There you have it. You’ve learned about the process of glass etching, the appearance of it, and even it’s advantages and disadvantages. So which is better? Well, that’s up to you to decide.
Wallkingdon Glass offers not only one of the broadest selections of architectural, decorative, and specialty glass, but we also offer services that allow our clients to do more with glass. If you want to get high quality glass and the cost effective solutions while keeping quality to highest level, send an email to enquiry@wallkingdonglass.com, we will have the valuable input and creativity of glass design experts to help you.
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