Using a Cricut Vinyl Mask to Help Glue Chipping

If you have seen my other Instructable where I tried glue chipping for the first time (https://www.instructables.com/DIY-Glue-Chipped-Glass/ ), this trial will take another leap forward. I have wanted an art Deco style sign for my bar area for a long time! I'm talking years and even to the point of taking a piece of glass and taping off all areas I wanted to spray paint gold. Realizing that would look very sloppy and likely just lead to aggravation, I played the long game. More of a waiting game but, once again, thanks to Paul at the Happy Gilder (seriously check them out if you're into that) I realized that it was easier to perform where the hardest part is just starting. So enough talk, let's get started.

Mirror to glue chip, whatever size is conducive to your project

Pad to protect your mirror surface

Glass / Mirror cleaner

Clean water for cleaning (i.e. not tap)

bristle brush (I use an old toothbrush)

cloth

Vinyl cutter (or use a vinyl cutting local or online service)

All the things that go along with using a vinyl cutter (so these can be skipped if you used a service):

• vinyl
• the mat
• transfer tape
• something to mask off the other edges of the back of the mirror to prevent damage (I used electrical tape)
• You may have to buy a font style for use (I used Creative Fabrica online)
• Weeding tools
• Scraper
• Spatula

Stuff for sand-blasting the back of the mirror off (normal people may use ... IDK ... a sand blaster with 120 grit aluminum oxide), I used a tote with an air compressor filled with my child's play sand

Safety gear, like eye & hearing protection / respirator

Hide glue

Heat source (stove / hot plate)

Container to store the melted glue

Apparatus to spread the hide glue (spoon / spatula [but not your Cricut spatula unless you have more than one])

Xacto knife & tweezers to remove excess hide glue

Heat source with low humidity to allow your glue to chip (more on that below)

Spray paint or gold leaf for gilding (I used gold by Rustoleum)

If you go the traditional gold leaf gilding, you will need all the stuff for that but those supplies are beyond this scope

A nail or command strip to hang your accomplishment

Check out this video where I dive into the process as well.

Also remember that I have another Instructable where I talk more detail about the glue chipping process found in the intro.

I will go over my personal design and will refer to it as such but your design can be whatever you'd like. It could be a word, phrase, picture, object, whatever but the overall process will be similar.

As stated earlier, I chose the simple B-A-R for my 6-inch by 12-inch mirror. I purchased this at a thrift store for ~$2.00. I liked the frame and the small size to get started with trying out my next step with glue chipping.

I also purchased a Cricut Explore Air 2 from an online auction for over 50% off. This is the kind of site that people return perfectly good stuff (who knows? Maybe it was the wrong color) but their loss was my gain. Nothing is wrong with it and I have used it A Lot since purchasing it and it is a lot of fun. However, my main motivation was to produce vinyl stencils at home and on the top of that list was for glue chipping like Happy Gilder does.

I removed the mirror from the frame (pic 2), acquired the measurement I needed for the overall vinyl (pic 3) and perused the interweb for an appropriate font. Nothing the Cricut came with was what I was looking for so I found one for $0.99 on creativefabrica.com (pic 4). This is 'Brisk' and the design of the font was what I needed for my rectangular mirror. Keep in mind the shape and how it will look and transfer to your particular mirror. I actually found (and purchased) a font I liked a lot better aesthetically but it wouldn't look good on the rectangular mirror. Had my mirror been square, I definitely would've gone with the other one.

I loaded Brisk into the Cricut software, Design Space, and wrote out B-A-R and made sure to mirror the font prior to cutting it (pic 5). Not because it was for a mirror but because when you look at the mirror side when it is hanging you want to read it properly. Be aware of this foolish mistake I almost made, hehe. Had I simply cut the vinyl incorrectly, no big deal. But If I went all the sand blasting / glue chipping without realizing . . . Anger ensues!

Font sent, vinyl cut (pic 6 & 7), it was time to weed. This simply means that I would be removing the parts I needed to sand blast on the back of the mirror (pic 8). I removed the letters and associated elements and left the borders (pic 9).

Place the transfer tape on you vinyl can be a little frustrating but these tips can help alleviate the frustration I experience.

Problem 1: Dealing with rolling vinyl / transfer tape.

Your vinyl wants to cup and your transfer tape wants to cup as well. To get them both to lay flat place your vinyl down and place a heavy object in the center (pic 1).

Cut a piece of transfer tape a bit larger than your vinyl and working from one edge to the other, place your transfer tape down on the mat / table and slowly pull towards the opposite end (pic 2). Ensure you use your scraper to minimize any air pockets or bubbling (pic 3). This was especially handy for the triangle left over in the middle of my A. Go slow and take your time (pic 4). The amount of effort you put in for prep will pay off later on.

Problem 2: Centering your design.

Picture three in the previous step showed a border traced out on the back of my mirror. My vinyl was measured and cut to fit along that border and I am glad I did so because that made the transfer way easier to lay (pic 5 & 6). Take your time to clean the back of the mirror to ensure there is minimal dust and debris to aid in making a good mating surface. Again, start from one end and work your way to the other end scraping along the way to ensure good contact (pic 7).

Problem 3: Remove only the transfer tape (and not your vinyl).

Best practice is to start from one edge of the transfer tape and pull it as low as possible and stay parallel to your desk / mat (pic 8). If you pull at say a 90 or even 45-degree, the chance to pull up your vinyl will drastically increase. The last thing you want to try and re-center a letter or flower petal or something.

Once the transfer tape is off (pic 9), reuse it (pic 10)! usually you can get a few more good transfers before it loses its oomph. After that, I placed electrical tape around the edge to cover up the rest of the exposed mirror backing that I don't want to remove via sand-blasting.

Professionals use professional tools. I used an air compressor with a modified gun, a "hopper" filled with play sand (sifted of course to minimize clogging. I'm not a monster), and an old tote to act as my blasting situation.

Hey, you gotta make due with what you got or can fabricate. You know what they say, "Desperation is the mother of invention."

I hear using 120-grit aluminum oxide is the bees knees for prepping for glue chipping. It is course enough to remove the mirror backing while at the same time, not breaking your vinyl . . . like my play sand did (pic 4).

This is all a trial and seeing if I can do this at home and you know what? I will take this as a win. You gotta break a few light bulbs to make eggs, you know what I am saying...no? you don't? alright, moving on.

I was hoping that some of the breakage from the play sand wasn't as bad I was making it out to be and I personally feel it didn't (pic 1). I wouldn't sell this to anyone or claim that this was good to go if say, I had a client, but for my own space, This is Awesome. Just my opinion. If you did check out my Gilded K Instructable, then you will know that I ground all the glass to glue chip with a rotary tool and let me tell you, it took forever. Like hours.

Clean up the mirror and use a really good glass cleaner. The better you prep the back of the mirror where you plan to glue chip, the better adhesion the glue will take when it dries.

I went into more detail about the intricacies of prepping and applying the hide glue in my gilded K Instructable, so I will hit the high notes. Heat the glue gently and not too hot (pic 2). Apply the glue to the sanded area you want the effect (pic 3). Allow the glue to dry, ~20-30 minutes, until it is tacky but not hard (pic 4). Remove the excess glue from the areas touching the vinyl, sort of like "weeding." Remove the excess glue using the edge of the vinyl/glass as a guide (pic 5 & 6). I use tweezers or the edge of the knife to get the excess off (pic 7).

Once all of the excess glue is removed, you are ready to let it work it's magic. Some pointers for your environment that will help the glue chipping is to place the glass in an area not too cold or else it will take forever (>1-2 weeks) to chip properly. Also, you want the relative humidity to be <30%. If it isn't there it may take longer or not chip at all, but that is what I read online and in forums. I actually had to glue chip this one twice and maybe it was serendipitous but the lower humidity seemed to help. I got chipping on both attempts, though. My first was in the less that insulated garage where the humidity gauge read in the 60-70% range and the second chip was performed in my house.

I moved on from using an old box with a 60W light bulb and a fan to place my glass in for chipping. I read online that one option was using a sheet pan with reptile heating pad attached (pic 8). This heats the pan gently and creates an environment conducive for your glass to begin chipping. It is a low tech method that I think works great. Double it up to heat from above and below and that'd be even better. I only have one at the moment and I place the glass on my workbench and place the apparatus on it. I leave it for ~24-28 hours, if that, and it is chipped (pics 9-12).

Again, a word of caution: Protect the glue that could literally fly off. You don't want to cut yourself from the glass that is freed from the glue chipping and you don't want your pet to eat it and possibly ingest glass.

IF your first attempt isn't what you expected or your chipping didn't take due to process / environment, try again. Another chip attempt isn't going to hurt. The exception being is if you have a piece of glass that is very thin like a millimeter or two. The hazard if it is too thin is that it could break the glass completely.

Once you are satisfied with your chip, it is time for gilding. Clean up any glue that may still be attached with warm water and a bristle brush and remove the vinyl. It is also a good idea to clean the back of the mirror with cleaning solution to prep for the gilding. In my case, again low tech, I use Rustoleum gold spray paint (pic 1).

I allowed the first coat to dry and applied a second. After that I was satisfied. Optionally, after you are good with the gold you can apply a black coat. I did that for my gilded K.

Now all that is left is to place it back in the frame. Give it a last thorough cleaning (I smudged mine with fingerprints trying to force it back in the frame) and hang it up.

I am super excited for how this turned out. I thought the A took the best glue chipping (in my opinion) and is the center focal point of the entire sign. Even though that shows where I got too aggressive with the sand-blasting, I still think this is a great success. What is also really nice is that I made it myself. I love a DIY!

So hopefully this will inspire you to try out something new and make a custom sign of your own. I understand that it takes a little investment up front but (A) you made it to the end, and (B) what doesn't?!

Thank you for checking this out and I will see you on the next one.