Craft Edge

This question is for anyone who has used the etching cream and a vinyl stencil. I am very confused as to how long you leave the cream on for. The instructions on the bottle says not to leave it on for more than 1 minute. Other websites say to leave it on for 5 minutes. I'm sure somewhere on this site someone said they left it on for 45 minutes. I am making some Christmas gifts so I don't have much time. How long have you all left the cream on for?????

On Glassess I have left it on for between 10 - 15 mins.
I have see others leaving it on for over 30 mins for some baking dishes.

It depends on the type of glass, not all glass is equal. I would leave it on for 5, rinse and repeat if you want a deeper etch.

It is a chemical process so it is self-limiting. I think all the meaningful etching is probably finished in 5 minutes, but I leave it on for 15 just to be sure. I have not had good luck rinsing and repeating, because the water (now mixed with cream) gets under the vinyl when I rinse and then it drips out, streaking the glass. So if you try that, be aware of that issue.

I have never left it on for more than 10 minutes on any glass or mirror and always had good results. I did try the rinse and repeat method and it tended to leave a hazy shadow effect around the edges.
Another thing to watch out for is to get a nice even coat of it on your glass

Butterfly wrote:I have never left it on for more than 10 minutes on any glass or mirror and always had good results. I did try the rinse and repeat method and it tended to leave a hazy shadow effect around the edges.
Another thing to watch out for is to get a nice even coat of it on your glass

I agree! An even coat works the best. If you can see through the cream anywhere, glob some more on.

I normall leave it on for about 15 minutes. Once though I had forgotton about it. It was still okay and that was like about 4 hours later! . Just a good wash off and a rinse and fine.

Maureen

Thank you all for your great advice.

You might be interested in our Etching Tutorial here: http://www.squidoo.com/etching-glass It should only take about 10-12 minutes to get a good etch with the Armour Etching Cream. Best wishes on your project! Michelle

I have had success with leaving it on for 5 minutes. Another thing to keep in mind is that the cream is reusable. If you save the pieces of backing from the vinyl stencil, once the glass is etched use the backing to scrape the bulk of the cream off and then scrape it back into the bottle. After you have removed the excess cream then you can rinse the rest off. This method came in handy last year when I etched 75 coffee cups for the staff at my kids' school for teacher appreciation week.