| There
is a big market out there for people doing glass etching.
But that market is primarily for etching glass in buildings (homes
or businesses) that are under construction. Either they are new
construction or are being remodeled. This is because the glass can
easily be taken to the person doing the etching, to work on in his/her
studio, before it is needed at the construction site.
There is actually
a much larger potential market in etching installed glass,
where the owners don't want to remove the glass and take it to someone's
studio to have it etched. This is because there is a much, much
larger number of buildings out there that are already built than
those that are under construction at any given time.
Just
think what you could do if you were able to go into someone's
home or business and etch the glass without creating a mess! Well,
you can!
Have
blaster, will travel.
Most people don’t even realize that there is a type of blaster
that will allow you to go into a home or business to etch the glass
that is already installed, without creating a lot of dust or mess.
It's called an On-site blaster, and it allows you
to take the equipment to the glass, not the other way around.
This blaster
uses a powerful vacuum return system to recapture dust and abrasive
after it has been shot out the nozzle, has hit the glass and etched
it, and has bounced off. This vacuum return system then delivers
the used abrasive back to the blaster where the dust is separated
and the reusable abrasive is recycled through the blaster continuously.
With an operator
who has some experience or practice, very little dust or abrasive
escapes. It does take some practice, and taking a seminar can speed
up your learning curve substantially. However, the techniques
are neither difficult nor time consuming to learn.
Some of the
things you have to learn are how to apply the resist to a vertical
piece of glass, how to prepare the image, how to achieve even coverage,
whether to try reverse blasting or stick with the positive, how
to etch on tempered glass, and others. The solutions are introduced
in our Video #1 and
Video #2 and are covered
in detail in our class on On-site
Glass Etching. Many people feel comfortable enough
with the idea of On-site Etching after seeing the videos that they
just get the equipment and get started.
This blaster
is a siphon system, so it requires a substantial amount of air to
operate continuously for long periods of time. An important consideration
is what type of compressor is required
and whether purchasing one is worth the money. This topic is covered
in our publication, Guide to Selecting
an Air Compressor for Glass Etching. If your
existing compressor is not adequate, or if it is not portable, renting
a larger compressor could be a viable, low-cost option for you to
get into on-site blasting.
Some people
doing on-site blasting use small, 110v compressors even though these
compressors do not provide enough air to blast for long periods
of time. They simply modify their blasting technique to alternate
short periods of cutting out the resist with short periods of blasting,
instead of doing all the cutting first and then all of the blasting.
Some people use two small compressors hooked together to provide
a longer period of blasting time before running out of air. Others
buy or rent gas engine compressors that put out larger amounts of
air.
Features:
Comes with gun, brush assembly, all hoses, nozzle, regulator, dust
filter. Easily portable - Mounted on wheeled dolly.
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The
On-site Blaster comes with all hoses, guages, and even a dedicated
regulator. All you need to do is fill with about 30 pounds of abrasive
and connect to the air hose from your compressor.
The
On-site Blaster can be used both to etch a project with installed
glass and to touch up a given area after finishing.
You
can etch a piece of installed glass with very little exposure to
dust and abrasive. Here Chuck, one of our illustrious former On-site
Class students learns the ins and outs of on site blasting.
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