Full disclosure: I'm etching the outside of 5"-8" glass fishing floats to make hanging lights for my Tiki Lounge. As such, I don't care if it's perfectly smooth, since minor swirls or streaks add interest. I spread the etch around with a nylon brush, and re-spread after 5 minutes or so for 10-15 minutes total. Re-smearing does wonders to smooth out the etching. When time's up, scrape what I can back into the bottle and wash off the rest.

It's a powerful acid and needs careful handling, but it gets the job done fine. If you need large SMOOTH areas etched, you probably should get them sand-blasted.

This is the second time I've purchased this brand of etching cream. Obviously I'm happy with it, having purchased it twice, but let me tell you why. It really does work well at etching glass and it does it within a span of 10b min. I've etched my Pyrex storage containers so I'll always be sure to get them back when they've been loaned out. I've etched glasses and beer steins. I've etched mirrors. I've even etched a full bottle of Smirnoff Vodka and matching shot glasses to commemorate a friends wedding (they love vodka and hated wine or else I'd do wine glasses and a nice bottle of vino). Most recently I etched a glass cutting board as a wedding present. It turned out PERFECT!

The process is simple enough. Cut out your own stencil using your method of choice (I use my Silhouette CameoDie Cutter and vinyl to create mine - be sure to mirror the image if it's showing through a cutting board!), use transfer tape to apply the stencil to the glass, cover any remaining glass area with masking tape (or else you end up with unwanted etched lines during the wash off time) and apply the etching cream. Let sit for 5-10 min, and wash off. Here's the thing though - you have GOT to use this stuff safely. Thankfully they make this very clear on the bottle, however many of the youtube videos I watched show people using it without gloves or glasses. I don't recommend that at all! This is serious stuff! I personally put down newspaper, wear disposable vinyl gloves, and safety glasses in a well ventilated area.

I learned the hard way that the little crystals that are part of the cream, will make the etch splotchy unless you take a popsicle stick and swirl the cream around mid etch. Not necessary for small thin designs but if you have thick or large areas to etch, you'll want to swirl, trust me. After learning that trick, my etchings come out even and clear every time. Absolutely love this stuff!

I was skeptical when watching videos about using Armour Etch on glass. My first thought was "There is no way it's this simple, and if it is, I'll mess it up". I was wrong. I lightly applied (you don't need a large amount) the Armour Etch on my stencils (I would not recommend making your own stencils unless you have experiance) and waited 10 minutes. It came out perfectly. Please note that you do need to masking tape around your stencils. This will etch all the glass it touches.

It's only okay, in my opinion. It doesn't leave as clear a chemical etchingas I was expecting. The packaging also was jacked; there was acid on the outside of the bottle. I'm not sure if that's from the age of the bottle or maybe some kind of temperature difference, but I'm less than thrilled with this experience.

doesnt work on all glass. I tried etching different glasses from different sources and out of 7 different glass bottles i had on one etched. the others not matter how long i left it did not etch as a result your succes will depend on the glass, so if you were planning to etch a lot of items i suggest get one item first and test it before buying a lot of the same glass items only to find out it wont etch.