Use and Application For Etched Glass Film (#21)

Use

Arlon’s Etched Glass vinyl (Series 5200/Series 5250) is designed to simulate the look of a fine grain acid etched or a sand blasted glass finish. It eliminates the mess, expense, inconsistency and possible damage to costly glass that these traditional methods can cause.

It may be used on an inner (second surface) or outer layer (first surface) of glass, acrylic or polycarbonate substrates.

The most common use is on second-surface applications, as it helps avoid abrasion and damage due to vandalism. Arlon’s Etched Glass vinyl is also preferred when a uniform, high-gloss surface over the entire sign is required.

Fabrication Tips

The computer cut line of Etched Glass film is hard to see when it comes time to weed. Liners are often colored to help reduce this problem. Arlon has selected a light blue color because it has shown to be more consistent in terms of release and “sheds” less pigment along the cut line than a darker liner typically used with this product. Here are some helpful tricks and tips when weeding:

• Use a lamp directed at a shallow angle to the film surface (depicted below). Doing so will highlight or shadow the cut-edges and make weeding - and life! - much easier.
• Wet applications also make installing Etched Glass film much simpler. Be sure to use only commercially available wetting solutions, or low adhesion and delamination can occur.
• Use a tackier grade of application tape to make image and text transfer smoother.

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