Hate to bring up an older thread but wanted to say thanks.. I seen this and had to give it a try. This is what I ended up with.
Cool design! I like the way you marked yours although it took me a moment to realize which marks were for full gallons and which were for halves...
-Tripod
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Primary: Botched Amaerican IPA| Bottle: Blonde Ale and "Nearcastle II" Nut Brown Ale... | Drinking: Nearcastle II... | Up Next: Something Stout so it has time to get nice for the cooler season...
I plan on sand blasting mine this summer. Was thinking on my logo but the gallon marks make sense. Maybe even other marks, like 1/2 gal or even cups. I can do good detail with my sand blaster and a practiced hand at an exacto with double layer masking tape is all that is needed. I have a fine grain sand that lets me do good detailed work and when you are done before peeling off the masking tape you can fill the sand blasted areas with marker or ink or even colored silcone rubber. No integrity problem there. I have 4 5gal carboys and 1 six gal carboy. Most are full now. But come spring, I should be able to do some tests with the 1 gal old organic juice containers to get the depth right, keeping it very shallow and even. I have etched 1/8 in deep into Aneeled glass, much harder. Also I sandblasted one of those thin glass domes you buy at the craft shop for display. It isn't hard, just time intensive with the exacto. The better your attention to detail in that stage the better your etch is. And yes both sand blasting and glass etching compound WILL show up to a hair's with of a mark. What you do with the tape after cutting it is just run over it with a finger to press down the edges and then you get no seapage.
Wish I'd read this thread a few days ago. I used vinyl (sp) weather-proof stickers from Home Depot for one on my 6 gallon carboys. Think I'll go for etching with the other. Thanks for all the tips and design ideas.
I would use industrial grade green diamond blasting grit that has been blasted at least once as it's broken into finer particles as well will only need a quick flash across the glass for a frosted finish. Done without stopping you will not dig into the glass causing any weakness in your fermenters. The down side the diamond eats away your blasting nozzles trust me on this one as I have four 5 gallon buckets of diamond grit once shot i've used in the blasting many items. The nozzles go away rather quickly.
I etched a 3-Gallon carboy this evening using this method... turned out looking great! I know to really move the acid around and brush it more than I think I need to next time, but overall, it looks really sharp. I am definitely going to try this on some bottles...
I second that, just be careful and not slip and drop a wet frementer or get injured and cut, glass scares me. It sure does look sharp I must add, nice job.
I am definitely going to try this on some bottles... 
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