The Making of a Custom Etched Melted Wine Bottle

It all starts with an empty wine bottle that has the label removed and scrubbed clean inside and out.
The bottle is melted on its side in a kiln until it is flat.
Thats where the fun begins!

We can make a design of just about anything and put it on a bottle. I prefer the darker colored bottles as the etching really stands out.

In this case we are going to make a "Life is Good" design.  We create the design using computer software and convert it into a .jpg format.  It is uploaded into editing software. We can make any size we want but keep it small enough to fit on  the bottle.

We then send the image to a vinyl cutting machine called the "Zing". We cut the image on 3M Sandblast Resist adhesive paper.



 

After the image is cut, we seperate the vinyl from the backing and place it on the bottle. With a sharp thumbtack, we remove the portions of the image we want to etch.

Now the reminder of the bottle that we dont want etched is covered with tape.










Over to the sandblaster we go to sandblast our bottle. I have found that 80 grit aluminum oxide works well with glass. 

Time to remove the vinyl. With warm water, the tape comes off easily.

















After a quick dry, the bottle is done and ready for further decorating if desired.

One done, many more to go. The designs are endless!