DIY frosted glass question

Post #312,329 by Silverlock 8/9/09 9:21:18 AM Reply	DIY frosted glass question I've got a frosted glass bathroom door that I managed to mess up. Thinking the glass had actually been etched, I used windex on it and ended up removing spots of frosting of what I assume was some form of a spray on product. I need to get this fixed and I wonder if anyone has ever used spray on frosting and could give advice. The product I found that seems to have the best reviews is Krylon glass frosting spray. http://www.joann.com...D=prd33893#review I would prefer to have this done with real acid etching but can't afford it right now so don't suggest that. Any other ideas?
Post #312,331 by Andrew Grygus 8/9/09 10:31:23 AM Reply	Do it the Redneck way. Have some relative get you a bottle of hydrofluoric acid and just sponge it on. You won't feel a thing - Hydrofluoric eats the nerves ahead of eating the flesh.
Post #312,332 by Another Scott 8/9/09 10:48:37 AM Reply	No personal experience... I've seen DIY "stained glass" paint kits that let you change glass to a slightly milky appearance. Perhaps a clear-ish version of that would work for small patches? I'm not optimistic, if you used a glass cleaner spray, though... I know that hydrofluoric acid (HF) is used for smoothing cut glass. I assume that some mixture of HF and other acids is use to produce frosted glass. HF is nasty stuff and potentially very dangerous, so you wouldn't want to use it home... (AG is joking. HF causes nasty deep burns - you don't want to mess with it unless you know what you're doing and have the proper equipment - http://en.wikipedia....uoric_acid#Safety.) I thought most frosted glass doors were made by sandblasting. Is removing the door, masking areas you need to protect with masking tape, and taking it to a shop that does sandblasting (or grit blasting) an option? I would think that that shouldn't be very expensive, but safely getting it there and back might be a problem. Check the Yellow Pages? HTH a bit. Good luck. Cheers, Scott.
Post #312,333 by Andrew Grygus 8/9/09 12:36:20 PM Reply	Well, at least it's a little safer than it was . . . . . back in my days of playing with chemicals. Now it comes in teflon bottles, back then the bottles were wax, and just a bit fragile. You could always tell which cupboard in the chemistry room the HFl was in because the glass window would be etched opaque. But yes, today nearly all glass is etched with a fine grit sandblasting. Any glass shop should be able to tell you where to get that done. Your glass is doubtless tempered so it would have to be done carefully and very lightly so as not to weaken the compression skin. Again, an expert who does this stuff should be consulted.
Post #312,355 by static 8/9/09 10:51:34 PM Reply	That all sounds dubious. If mere Windex can remove the "frosting", I would be looking to simply replace the whole glass, finances permitting, of course. I'd be surprised the frosting hadn't worn away ages ago under normal wear-and-tear. Wade. Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
Post #312,384 by mhuber 8/10/09 2:42:18 PM Reply	Was the frost intentional? Lime buildup, maybe?
Post #312,421 by Silverlock 8/12/09 7:17:30 AM Reply	Yes. Quite intentional. The glass in the door has vertical rounded bevels about an inch wide repeating across the whole surface. I'm guessing the bevels keep you from getting a clear look through the glass but someone who lived here prior to me decided that wasn't enough. I think I agree.
Post #312,386 by beepster 8/10/09 3:34:07 PM Reply	Static suggestion change the glass altogether to plexi designed for that application (the bumpy, non see through kind). First, probably pretty easy and second, probably cheaper. I will choose a path that's clear. I will choose freewill.

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