Frosting Glass

[Pavel314]

We have a sliding glass door which separates an unheated porch from the rest of the house. The porch is used for storage so we'd like to hide that area from view. We had a drape in front of the glass door but that's inconvenient when carrying stuff in or out. I thought of applying some translucent contact paper to obscure the view but allow light through, but I can just imagine the folds and bubbles and creases which would result from trying to apply a 6-foot long piece of contact paper to glass.

When I was in college, I worked at a G.E. lamp glass lab. We used to frost the inside of bulbs with hydrofluoric acid. Having worked with that stuff, I know I don't want to be sloshing it about on the porch.

Does anyone know of a coating which is made for this purpose? I imagine an aerosol can of something that adheres to glass, does not flake off easily and gives a frosted appearance.

Thanks for any suggestions,

Paul

[c_kubie]

I purchased a can of frosted glass spray from the local hobby shop (Michael's). It wasn't the best job and in result was inconsistant in appearance, but it definently appeared frosted.

Maybe you may have better luck with it. I haven't found a place that sells it in a roll to be applied like a tint.

C_kubie

[c_kubie]

I purchased a can of frosted glass spray from the local hobby shop (Michael's). It wasn't the best job and in result was inconsistant in appearance, but it definently appeared frosted.

Maybe you may have better luck with it. I haven't found a place that sells it in a roll to be applied like a tint.

C_kubie

[bumtracks]

maybe put mirror window tint film on the outside if your porch is brighter than inside, mask and roll on some paint.

inconvenient

[willshak]

On 11/29/2004 7:32 AM US(ET), Pavel314 took fingers to keys, and typed the following:

If done carefully, there won't be a problem. It doesn't stick permanently, and can adjusted as needed during installation. I have a ground floor bathroom double hung window that looks out onto a patio. My wife covered the bottom pane with a piece of diamond patterned translucent vinyl contact paper (Rubbermaid's Contact - Frosty). It's been on there for a few years and is still holding as good as when first applied, even though it is a south facing window that gets full sun everyday. No bubbles after installing and none have ever appeared since. The roll we have left is only 18" wide, and I don't know if it comes in wider widths.

[bill a]

If you want permanent frosting, you could sandblast it. I've done designs in transom windows (with contact paper) and it's no big deal. Bill

[Union 134]

Home depot sells a spray window frosting in the paint dept. Mark H.

[Charles Spitzer]

i'm not sure i'd want to sandblast a tempered glass door panel.

isn't HF used to remove frosting on glass?

[default]

I'm not totally sure I'd want to sandblast a glass door, given that it's likely to be tempered glass. Since this is an _unheated_ storage area, I think I'd be tempted to paint some cardboard, homastote, or foam insulation, and use spray adhesive, rubber cement, or wire straps to attach it to the outside of the door.

Failing that, you can do a fairly good (or, if you want, attrocious) job of faking stained glass with colored elmers glue. If you have children of the right age, they'd be delighted to take care of that for you.

--Goedjn

[Suzie-Q]

-> We have a sliding glass door which separates an unheated porch from the rest

-> of the house. The porch is used for storage so we'd like to hide that area

-> from view. We had a drape in front of the glass door but that's inconvenient

-> when carrying stuff in or out. I thought of applying some translucent

-> contact paper to obscure the view but allow light through, but I can just

-> imagine the folds and bubbles and creases which would result from trying to

-> apply a 6-foot long piece of contact paper to glass.

->

-> When I was in college, I worked at a G.E. lamp glass lab. We used to frost

-> the inside of bulbs with hydrofluoric acid. Having worked with that stuff, I

-> know I don't want to be sloshing it about on the porch.

->

-> Does anyone know of a coating which is made for this purpose? I imagine an

-> aerosol can of something that adheres to glass, does not flake off easily

-> and gives a frosted appearance.

Someone makes something to frost a large pane of glass, as you want to do. I saw something like that done on "Trading Spaces" a year or so ago.

It's actually a glass etching process. I'm sure you could find it either at someplace like Home Depot or Lowes, or someplace like a large hobby store (Hobby Lobby, for example).

It's not difficult to do, but it is, iirc, toxic, so you have to be very careful.

Sorry I don't have brand names for you, or even what the stuff is called.

[Ed Clarke]

Take a look at this person's stuff on ebay:

That'll probably wrap, but just in case, the vendor is "window-art". It looks like a possible soluton to your problem.

[dicko]

Home Depot sells frosted window film. It goes on with some soapy water, a razor blade, and a squeegee. I had the same doubts as you about air bubbles when I did my windows, but they really turned out great and easy to do.

dickm

[JerryMouse]

And, as you recall, a single drop of HFl on your skin means death. It causes calcium to be deposited in the heart. There is no treatment. Death occurs in a few hours.

[Jeff Cochran]

Adhesive films exist for this, glass etching (your light bulb "frosting") is quite possible though tough to do evenly without significant practice, and the glass can be sandblasted. And yes, tempered glass can be sandblasted. Even a decent window tinting would likely obscure the view. Or heck, hang curtains/blinds.

Jeff

[Charles Spitzer]

wrong on three accounts. a) a single drop doesn't cause death. it causes extreme pain and loss of calcium because b) it gets deposited in the bones because it eats the calcium out of them, and c) can be cured in a lot of cases by chelation, which itself is quite painful.

[Gary Dyrkacz]

Hmm, thats not what I remember reading. Although a drop may not kill you, the damage it causes is much more extensive than other acids. Its action is particularly insidious because it penetrates quickly into the body. The skin surface may not suggest a lot of damage, but HF can cause extensive deep tissue necrosis. There are treatments, if done quickly enough. Nevertheless, even in relatively small skin spills, the subsurface damage to tissue and bone can be bad enough that amputation is the only choice.

In other words, go out of your way to avoid using HF. Gary Dyrkacz [e-mail] Radio Control Aircraft/Paintball Physics/Paintball for 40+

[George E. Cawthon]

You don't really think the previous poster was serious do you? Of course a single drop doesn't cause death, in a few hours or ever. Of course is doesn't cause calcium to be deposited in the heart or anywhere else It is simply an acid that dissolves stuff including glass (used to be stored in paraffin wax bottles). You get rid of the problem by neutralizing with a base or simply flooding the area with a lot of water, not by chelation therapy which is normally used for heavy metal toxicity. My father was an assay chemist who once got a drop on a finger nail. Before he noticed it, it had eaten through the finger nail and into the quick. Yep it was painful, so he drill a hole with a small bit (just to the quick) and flooded it with a solution of baking soda.

[Charles Spitzer]

outside any evidence to the contrary, yes, i expect the person was serious.

the fix for it is to fix the fluoride ions with calcium, magnesium, or potassium. baking soda (NaHCO3) has none of that.

excerpts:

Pathophysiology: The 2 mechanisms that cause tissue damage are corrosive burn from the free hydrogen ions and chemical burn from tissue penetration of the fluoride ions.

Fluoride ions penetrate and form insoluble salts with calcium and magnesium. Soluble salts also are formed with other cations but dissociate rapidly. Consequently, fluoride ions release, and further tissue destruction occurs.

Treatment for HF acid burns includes basic life support and appropriate decontamination, followed by neutralization of the acid by use of calcium gluconate

For digital burns, if calcium gluconate gel is not available, the fingers may be soaked in magnesium hydroxide-containing antacid preparations (eg, Mylanta) en route to a medical facility.

[George E. Cawthon]

There isn't enough fluoride ion in a drop to do anything. The subject was a drop of HF. The amount of fluoride ion in a drop of HF is less than many people consume daily in their drinking water. If you get enough HF on you that the fluoride ions become a factor, you will be severely burned and neutralization is still the immediate problem. Any weak base or acid would do that. But you are right, magnesium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide would take care of both problems.

[Pavel314]

When I was working at the lab, I once neglected to put on my rubber gloves when working with the hyrdoflouric acid; probably in a hurry or something. I managed to get a bit on the tip of my finger, from where it seeped under my fingernail. It was very painful, like I hit the nail with a hammer. The nurse gave me some salve to work under the nail, which helped, but it was very painful for several days.

Paul