Marking your carboy

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Bytor1100

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This shows how I etched gallon/half gallon marks on my carboy using glass acid etch.
This is what you need:
1. Carboy
2. Masking tape 1/2" and 1" (or whatever you want, I already had these)
3. Armor Etch Glass etching (got it from Roberts Craft)
4. Flux brush
5. Scrapbooking letter set.
carb1.jpg

Add a half gallon of water at a time, and mark it with the masking tape. I just centered the 1/2" tape over the water line. Then add your numbers from the stencil set. Then dump out the water.
carb2.jpg

Add the etching cream with the flux brush and let sit for about 10 minutes.
carb3.jpg

Wash off the acid with tap water and remove the masking tape.
carb4.jpg

And that's it
I got a little bleed through with the acid, but my masking tape is pretty old.
 
That looks great man. Is that glass etching cream something you can pick up at a craft store, or do you have to get it somewhere special?
 
lustreking said:
That looks very cool, but what does it do to the integrity of the glass? :eek:

The etching is only at the surface level(much less than sandblasting would do). I have no doubts that it has not weakened the overall structure of the glass.
 
BierMuncher said:
Very cool. Does that stuff work on bathroom mirrors?

I could blur out the area where my "what nots" reflect when I step out of the shower.

Would that be because your "Junk is Ugly"? :cross:
 
that is a verry good idea, i have been glass etching off and on for 20+ years and never thought of that. but i did think of these.

these are ones i did a couple of months ago



this is a 1 gallon jug i did for wine making

 
kcmcf said:
that is a verry good idea, i have been glass etching off and on for 20+ years and never thought of that. but i did think of these.

these are ones i did a couple of months ago



this is a 1 gallon jug i did for wine making



Wow, those are SHARP!!!! If I get bored this summer I might have to give that a shot. Some generic label on the bottle and leave a spot where I can just put the beer name on some masking tape? Ok, not as classy, but still cool....:D
 
deathweed said:
Wow, those are SHARP!!!! If I get bored this summer I might have to give that a shot. Some generic label on the bottle and leave a spot where I can just put the beer name on some masking tape? Ok, not as classy, but still cool....:D

Everyone knows in order to be classy you have to use duct tape!!:ban:
 
Bytor1100 said:
Everyone knows in order to be classy you have to use duct tape!!:ban:
Between duct tape, JB weld, and baling wire/twine, thare aint NOTHING out there you cant rig or fix:rockin:
 
BierMuncher said:
Very cool. Does that stuff work on bathroom mirrors?

I could blur out the area where my "what nots" reflect when I step out of the shower.

lol funny ****!
 
Very nice idea. I love the things homebrewers come up with. I am a bridge/highway designer by trade and its great to be part of a community of problem solvers. Homebrewers of the world UNITE!
 
Darnit, now I need to spend more money to get glass etching chemicals cause this looks too cool, sometimes I think I spend more money by reading these forums than I save from the cool tricks I learn.

Very sharp looking carboys btw :)
 
Let the contest for the best looking carboy begin. Is it only in white? We have this stuff called Thermomark we use to etch on glass with our lasers. Just paint on, then laser mark. Everything not hit with the beam just wipes off. Military uses it to mark Humvee windows. Be too hard to mark the roundess of the carboy though with consistency
 
Sweet! I've got a bunch of one gallon jugs that I'd love to do this to, so it would just be a matter of coming up with a decent stencil. Hmmmmmm, anybody have success with that, or is masking tape really the way to go?
 
RadicalEd said:
Sweet! I've got a bunch of one gallon jugs that I'd love to do this to, so it would just be a matter of coming up with a decent stencil. Hmmmmmm, anybody have success with that, or is masking tape really the way to go?

Would wax work for this stuff? Cover the surface with wax, then scrape away the wax where you want the etching. Works for metal etching, but I have never used this stuff.
 
i use clear contact paper or packing tape for smaller items.
just cut out what you want etched.
the beer bottle i did i just printed of some black and white shipping lables.
 
I'm thinking of trying to design a brewery logo. Do you guys think that those window cling static decals would seal well enough against a carboy to use as a stencil for a design? (to then etch with the method described here)

Check out this site for what I mean:
http://www.papilio.com/hps/home.php?cat=253

You could print out your design, cut it out with an exacto knife (I'm not artistic, but I can probably trace...) and use it several times over on each item you want your logo on.

EDIT:
Oh and if you have carboys that are the same diameter you could make one big (or two because of 8.5 X 11 restraint) cling-ons to make the measurement marker as shown in the original post
 
to the OP, How much of the original bottle did you use for the 2 carboys? How much left over? Oh and what size bottle did you buy. Don't wanna buy the 18 dollar one if the small size was plenty!
 
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