Step-by-step guide: How to Engrave on Glass

Difficulty
Easy

Introduction

Love the look of glass engraving? Want to add a pop of colour to your projects? Bee guides you through how to get started engraving, along with sharing some special tips and tricks. Whether its glass cups, coasters, bottles or candle holders, a personalised touch will always do the trick.

You need

Let's go - step by step

Step15

Transferring the design onto the glass

Transfer your design onto the glass object using a sharpie or drywipe pen

Start by transferring your design onto the glass object. There are three ways of transferring onto the glass;

Simply draw your design directly onto the glass using a marker pen or chalk pen.
If you have an open glass container, such as a drinking glass, you can place your design inside the glass ready to engrave on the outside.
Or you can use transfer paper to allow you to copy the design onto the glass. You can always go over the transfered lines with a marker or chalk pen to marker the design lines stand out more.

Step25

Select your burr

The Dremel Glass Etching set contains 8 glass engraving accessories, including silicon carbide grinding stones and diamond wheel points. Each accessory will give you a different finish; some are good for lines, others better for shading. You can swap between accessories during your engraving project. For this project, Bee starts with the Diamond Wheel Point 4,4 mm (7105). Put the accessory into the chuck on the Stylo+ with 5mm of the shaft showing and tighten the chuck so that it is secure.

Step35

PPE & comfort

Wear PPE such as gloves, face mask, and eye protection, when engraving

Before you start to engrave, ensure that you are wearing a dust mask as the glass particles are small and hazardous if breathed in. Wear second skin gloves as this will protect your hands if the Stylo+ slips and also to assist with gripping the glass. It is also advisable to wear eye protection.

Step45

Engraving

Carefully go over the transferred design making light passes until you have the base design. If you want a stronger look, go over the areas again to engrave deeper into the glass. Drip some water from a pipette onto your design area and engrave through the water, this will keep the dust down and give you a slightly different effect. Change the size and type of accessory to develop different effects in the glass.

Step55

Adding colour

Red acryclic based wax being buffed into the glass engraving to add a pop of colour

Once you are happy with the engraved design you can add colour to the design with an acrylic based colour. The best way to apply this colour is by using a kitchen scourer to work colour into the design.

Note: when the acrylic wax is dry it is splash resistant but will fade with regular washing and is not dishwasher proof.