Anyone know how I can etch a small glass worktop saver cheaply to stop
stray reflections ? - I want to make myself a new "pro" mouse mat :-}

TIA :-}

On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:23:44 +0100, Colin Wilson
o.uk wrote:


Anyone know how I can etch a small glass worktop saver cheaply to stop
stray reflections ? - I want to make myself a new "pro" mouse mat :-}

TIA :-}

Three methods are available.

Sandblasting which is easy if you know someone with the gear.

Hydrofluoric acid which is deadly and should be steered clear of.

And a harmless chemical that attacks part of the glass and gives a
fine etch to it. Sadly I don't remember it's name. Sorry

Three methods are available.
Sandblasting which is easy if you know someone with the gear.

Nope :-(

Hydrofluoric acid which is deadly and should be steered clear of.

I knew there was an acid that did it, but couldn't remember what it
was - it's probably also a biatch to get hold of...

And a harmless chemical that attacks part of the glass and gives a
fine etch to it. Sadly I don't remember it's name. Sorry

Some of the DIY shops do an "etch" spray, but I suspect it's a plastic
sprayover layer, rather than a proper etch solution...

Colin Wilson coughed up some electrons that declared:

Hydrofluoric acid which is deadly and should be steered clear of.

I knew there was an acid that did it, but couldn't remember what it
was - it's probably also a biatch to get hold of...

It's very very nasty. Not at all like conc. nitric or sulphuric. Something
about where the fluoride ions go after they hit your skin - and how fast...

Apparently involves having appendages amputated if not flushed off quicky.
Not a chemist - just read the safety leaflet once.

google "hydrofluoric acid burns"

I'm totally mad, but I wouldn't go near the stuff.

Cheers

Tim

On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:33:06 +0100, Tim S wrote:

Colin Wilson coughed up some electrons that declared:

Hydrofluoric acid which is deadly and should be steered clear of.

I knew there was an acid that did it, but couldn't remember what it
was - it's probably also a biatch to get hold of...

It's very very nasty. Not at all like conc. nitric or sulphuric. Something
about where the fluoride ions go after they hit your skin - and how fast...

Apparently involves having appendages amputated if not flushed off quicky.
Not a chemist - just read the safety leaflet once.

google "hydrofluoric acid burns"

I'm totally mad, but I wouldn't go near the stuff.

Cheers

Tim

Years ago I was walking around a Clarke-Eaton glass factory and was
shown the blasting section where one little man did the artistic stuff
and good he was. But next to him was a large sheet of glass, flat on
the floor. It had a putty like stuff making an edging to dam a liquid
that had been poured over it. There it was right by the walkway, no
signs, nothing. Any passer could have triped and fallen right in it.
It was HF acid. )

In article ,
Tim S writes:
Colin Wilson coughed up some electrons that declared:

Hydrofluoric acid which is deadly and should be steered clear of.

I knew there was an acid that did it, but couldn't remember what it
was - it's probably also a biatch to get hold of...

It's very very nasty. Not at all like conc. nitric or sulphuric. Something
about where the fluoride ions go after they hit your skin - and how fast...

Small quantities quickly cause bone destruction.
I think it's only a catalyst, so it's not used up
in the process and can just cary on going.

Hydrofluoric acid used to be used to make frosted
light bulb glass. Glass frosted in this way was very
good at diffusing light without generating much loss.
It was also possible to etch toughened glass (light
bulbs are slightly toughened so they can get away
with using very thin glass).

However, even in such carefully controlled industrial
processes, handling is now considered too dangerous
for this, and they've had to switch to less efficient
(in light terms) methods such as powered coatings.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 19 Jul 2008 11:44:22 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

Small quantities quickly cause bone destruction.
I think it's only a catalyst, so it's not used up
in the process and can just cary on going.

It's not a catalytic reaction, but as you point out it's
self-regenerating and so it does carry on until you take action to stop
it.


Hydrofluoric acid used to be used to make frosted
light bulb glass.

Still is. Hydrofluoric is used to etch, then bifluoric (which leaves a
smooth surface) is used to "polish" the etch a little, giving dispersion
without much loss.

In message , EricP
writes
On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:23:44 +0100, Colin Wilson
REMOVEEVERYTHINGBUTnewsgroup@phoenixbbsZEROSPAM. co.uk wrote:


Anyone know how I can etch a small glass worktop saver cheaply to stop
stray reflections ? - I want to make myself a new "pro" mouse mat :-}

TIA :-}

Three methods are available.

Sandblasting which is easy if you know someone with the gear.

Well, if he can get to Watford, I have


Hydrofluoric acid which is deadly and should be steered clear of.

And a harmless chemical that attacks part of the glass and gives a
fine etch to it. Sadly I don't remember it's name. Sorry


the stuff you use for etching car windows

--
geoff

On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:50:50 +0100, geoff wrote:

the stuff you use for etching car windows

Yep. Spot on.

Think it attacks the silica in the glass

Well, if he can get to Watford, I have

'fraid i'm up in Liverpool - it'd be cheaper to buy a vastly
overpriced £30 "gaming pad" than the cost of the petrol :-}

EricP wrote:

And a harmless chemical that attacks part of the glass and gives a
fine etch to it. Sadly I don't remember it's name. Sorry

Dunno about harmless, but ammonium bifluoride will do the job and is
much safer than HF:

SiO2 (s) + 4[NH4][HF2] (aq) †’ SiF4 (l) + 4[NH4]F (aq) + 2H2O (l)
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_bifluoride]

--
Andy

On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:23:44 +0100, Colin Wilson
o.uk wrote:


Anyone know how I can etch a small glass worktop saver cheaply to stop
stray reflections ? - I want to make myself a new "pro" mouse mat :-}

Can't help re. the etching...but I use a finely textured wall tile (
free sample ) and an optical mouse.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

Anyone know how I can etch a small glass worktop saver cheaply to stop
stray reflections ? - I want to make myself a new "pro" mouse mat :-}
Can't help re. the etching...but I use a finely textured wall tile (
free sample ) and an optical mouse.

Hmm not an option that had occurred to me - one worthy of further
investigation :-p

On Jul 18, 10:43*pm, Colin Wilson
o.uk wrote:
Anyone know how I can etch a small glass worktop saver cheaply to stop
stray reflections ? - I want to make myself a new "pro" mouse mat :-}
Can't help re. the etching...but I use a finely textured wall tile (
free sample ) and an optical mouse.

Hmm not an option that had occurred to me - one worthy of further
investigation :-p


What sandpaper abrasive's harder than glass?


NT

On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:00:25 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Jul 18, 10:43*pm, Colin Wilson
REMOVEEVERYTHINGBUTnewsgr...@phoenixbbsZEROSPAM. co.uk wrote:
Anyone know how I can etch a small glass worktop saver cheaply to stop
stray reflections ? - I want to make myself a new "pro" mouse mat :-}
Can't help re. the etching...but I use a finely textured wall tile (
free sample ) and an optical mouse.

Hmm not an option that had occurred to me - one worthy of further
investigation :-p


What sandpaper abrasive's harder than glass?

As a youngster I used to grind the surface of glass for photographic
purposes using another bit of glass and a paste of Vim-type scourer.
Worked a treat.

A glass worktop saver might be a bit tougher, so you may have to
resort to ordinary glass. No harm in experimenting though.

--
Frank Erskine

On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:55:46 +0100, Frank Erskine wrote:

A glass worktop saver might be a bit tougher, so you may have to
resort to ordinary glass. No harm in experimenting though.

"tougher", hum, A worktop saver might be toughened glass as well, medium
risk of it just falling apart once you start to abrade one surface or at
some random time afterwards...

Probably better to get a couple of sheets of ordinary 6mm plate glass,
some mild abrasive (Vim etc has been mentioned) and water. Rounding the
edges or radusing the corners would probably be better done by a proper
glass merchant who may as well frost it as well.

--
Cheers
Dave.

wrote:
On Jul 18, 10:43 pm, Colin Wilson
o.uk wrote:
Anyone know how I can etch a small glass worktop saver cheaply to stop
stray reflections ? - I want to make myself a new "pro" mouse mat :-}
Can't help re. the etching...but I use a finely textured wall tile (
free sample ) and an optical mouse.
Hmm not an option that had occurred to me - one worthy of further
investigation :-p


What sandpaper abrasive's harder than glass?




almost any. glass is soft. T cut would probably work..

NT

Hi Colin

Colin Wilson wrote:
Anyone know how I can etch a small glass worktop saver cheaply to stop
stray reflections ? - I want to make myself a new "pro" mouse mat :-}

TIA :-}

Stained glass suppliers will carry 'etching cream' which does just what
you want to do... (maybe)
An example is here http://www.tempsfordstainedglass.co.uk - search for
'etch' - but it's £15 + vat for a far bigger tub than you'd ever want.

The etching process does leave the glass slightly rough to the touch -
don;t know if that will affect your mouse 'slideability'.

I don't know if the cream contains Hydroflouric acid - but whatever it
contains, it's covered with elfin safety warnings - take great care with
it - they're not joking!

Your friendly local glass supplier might be able to sand-blast it for
you - or use some very fine wet-and-dry paper with water. Problem will
be in getting a uniform finish (whatever technique you use)

You used to be able to get 'non-reflective' glass - picture-framers used
it - might be worth asking - you might get an offcut for next-to-nothing
- but you'd need to treat the cut edges to take off the sharpness

If you were over her in Ireland then I could probably help - but postage
between here & there is a killer !

Regards
Adrian - www.inspired-glass.com

"Colin Wilson" o.uk wrote
in message g...

Anyone know how I can etch a small glass worktop saver cheaply to stop
stray reflections ? - I want to make myself a new "pro" mouse mat :-}

TIA :-}

Now that ball mice are largly a thing of the past how come promotional
mouse-mats are usually not sutable for optical mice?
Many a time I get complaints of jumping cursors, and using a mat-less
desk-top provides a complete cure.
--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

On 19/07/2008 15:47, Graham. wrote:

Now that ball mice are largly a thing of the past how come promotional
mouse-mats are usually not sutable for optical mice?
Many a time I get complaints of jumping cursors

I find that a clean sheet of A4 works best for most optical mice,
perhaps promotional mouse-mats could be printed with white ink on a
white background?

Andy Burns wrote:
On 19/07/2008 15:47, Graham. wrote:

Now that ball mice are largly a thing of the past how come promotional
mouse-mats are usually not sutable for optical mice?
Many a time I get complaints of jumping cursors

I find that a clean sheet of A4 works best for most optical mice,
perhaps promotional mouse-mats could be printed with white ink on a
white background?

I use a sheet of black Depron..