Frosted glass

Modern interior designers offer their customers to use a variety of materials for doors. This is not only wood, but also various types of plastic, metal, mirror, transparent and frosted glass, exotic materials. Frosted glass is perfect for bathrooms, toilets, kitchens. But it must be carefully looked after. About how to care, as well as how to turn ordinary glass into frosted, we will talk in this article.

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Why glass?

Glass doors have their advantages over ordinary wooden:

• glass doors do not crack open, do not rot, a fungus does not settle on them, that is, with careful handling they will serve for quite some time;
• they provide reliable sound insulation;
• the room seems lighter than it actually is - due to the fact that light passes even through opaque glass;
• the room seems bigger than it is;
• glass is completely insensitive to high humidity;
• this material easily tolerates temperature extremes;
• glass is inert, that is, it does not enter into chemical reactions with any substances and materials;
• the surface is easy to care for;
• frosted glass for doors is made of shockproof glass, which almost does not break;
• accessibility - the price range is great, and a family of any income can afford frosted glass doors.

Important! Frosted glass goes well with any materials, which allows each landlord to show their design abilities.

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What is glass and how is it made?

Before you start cleaning, you need to find out what this material is and what its properties are. This will help you choose the right detergents and cleaning items. In construction stores you can find glass:

• ordinary;
• acrylic.

What are the differences 2 of these types of material:

1. Normal - obtained by melting sand. He has an amorphous-crystalline structure. To prevent the glass from breaking, various additives are added during its manufacture, as are dyes.
2. Now more and more popular is acrylic glass. It is made from a polymer obtained by artificial means. This is impact-resistant plastic, it tolerates mechanical influences much better than ordinary glass, and therefore many prefer it to make doors.

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How does glass get frosted?

Initially, glass obtained by the melting method is transparent. It is made matte using special processing. In industry are used:

• sandblasting method;
• etching;
• the use of ceramic paints;
• firing coating.

Determine the appropriate technology:

1. Sandblasting is a purely mechanical method that requires special equipment. Glass is under the influence of some loose abrasive, which destroys the top layer. Typically, plants use alumina or fractional sand for this purpose. This is a rather complicated method, and it is not used at home.
2. Etching is a chemical method. The matte effect is achieved due to the effect of chemical reagents on the surface of the material; hydrofluoric acid is most often used as the main one.Etching can be carried out at home, but for this it is better to use less aggressive and more affordable substances.
3. Matting with ceramic paints is a fairly simple way to achieve an excellent effect. This method has only one drawback - paints are quite expensive, so the doors can turn out to be “golden”.
4. Firing coating is an effective method, the glass remains frosted for many years. But doors with such a coating are also expensive.

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Glass frosting at home

You can give the glass a matte effect yourself. There are several simple ways to do this - depending on whether you want to get:

• uniform frosted glass;
• glass with a pattern.

Homogeneous frosted glass

The matte effect is provided by a special translucent film with an adhesive base, which can be bought at a hardware store. You need:

• a piece of film, slightly larger than the surface of the glass;
• paper knife or shoe;
• metal ruler;
• atomizer;
• rubber spatula;
• soap or dishwashing liquid;
• water.

This method of matting is perhaps the simplest of the existing ones:

1. Measure the glass.
2. Draw water into the spray bottle.
3. If the shape of the glass is simple, draw a shape on the back of the film that exactly matches the shape of the glass.
4. Make 5 cm of allowance on each side.
5. Cut a fragment - this is best done with a short knife on a metal ruler.
6. Degrease the glass - for example, just wash it with a soapy solution, but if necessary, you can use acetone.
7. Separate the adhesive layer.
8. Moisten the film with spray water so that it does not stick where you don’t need it.
9. Start sticking the film to the back of the glass. The allowances should go on the profile, and you need to start gluing from above, smoothing the bubbles and folds with a rubber spatula.
10. Trim the allowances.

Important! In such a simple way, you can make a pattern in which some parts are transparent and others are matte.

Etching

Matting glass at home can be etched. For this you need:

• special paste (you can make it yourself) or gel;
• cutter;
• soft brush;
• stencil;
• scotch tape (painting);
• polyethylene.

Important! This method is more suitable for applying a matte pattern than for obtaining a uniform surface.

Before you start to etch the door glass, try the paste on another piece of glass, similar in quality. You need to know the etching time, and it depends on the paste, and on how deep the pattern you want to get. So, how to make frosted glass:

1. Make or buy a stencil.
2. Wash and dry the surface of the material before processing.
3. The stencil is first applied to carbon paper, and then all this is placed on the film (with a coloring layer to it). The whole structure is sealed with tape.
4. Apply a stencil of self-adhesive film.
5. Remove portions of the film from fragments that are supposed to remain transparent, all parts of the pattern should fit snugly against the glass.
6. Cover areas where there is no self-adhesive film with polyethylene - the film is fixed with tape. And the lower edge of the polyethylene must be placed in a bowl where water will drain after the procedure.
7. Cover the pattern with a layer of etching paste.
8. After the time specified in the instructions or established experimentally, wash off the paste with water with a soft brush.
9. After the etched area has dried, remove the stencil.

Important! If the size of the pattern is larger than the film width, overlap the stencil fragments so that one allowance overlaps the other by 1.5 cm. Cut the stencil with a knife with a short sharp blade.

The most affordable pasta

Pasta can be made based on:

• water glass;
• hydrofluoric acid.

It is better to use liquid glass:

1. Dilute the liquid glass with distilled water (sold at a pharmacy or auto shop).
2. Add tooth powder.
3. Mix well.
4. Apply the paste to the desired areas with a velor roller.
5. After pickling, rinse the paste with warm water.

Engraving

A matte pattern can also be applied using engraving. This is a difficult but exciting process. Special equipment is needed - abrasive tools.

Important! The procedure is quite a long one, for engraving you will need a couple of hours of free time, and every day. You also need a prepared workplace with good lighting, a table, covered with a piece of foam. It’s better, of course, to equip the workshop, since engraving is quite dusty.

Engraving will take a long time to learn, but there are some general rules that will come in handy for the first person to do this:

1. Apply the pattern to the glass using a marker.
2. Try to walk along the lines with a boron machine (like the one that the dentist has) with special pads.
3. Boron can only be moved in one direction.

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How to wash frosted glass on the door?

So, you put frosted glass doors or made them yourself. They, like everything in the house, must be looked after. This is simple, but some rules need to be considered.

1. The door is made of several materials, and it is necessary to have detergents on hand for each material.
2. Moving elements should be periodically lubricated so as not to creak.

What can and cannot be used?

The range of detergents in hardware stores is now quite large. You will easily find what is suitable for washing frosted glass. Pay attention to products labeled “for glass” and “for glass-ceramic surfaces”. Fit for you:

• GT-20 (sold in hardware stores);
• Mister Muscle;
• Prill;
• vinegar;
• ammonia;
• medical alcohol;
• acetone;

You will always find the instructions for the store items on the packaging. But the useful substances that are in the medicine cabinet or kitchen cabinet, you need to know how to use:

1. Alcohol removes greasy stains, as well as stains from tea and coffee.
2. With liquid ammonia, you can simply wipe the glass, performing regular maintenance, so that the dust sticks less.

Important! When washing frosted glass, there are practically no stains.

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What kind of cleaning items are needed?

Frosted glass, of course, is durable, but it can be scratched. Therefore, use only soft rags and sponges for cleaning:

• suede;
• microfiber;
• flannel.

When cleaning frosted glass, it is very important that it does not become transparent. Therefore, it is better to wash in a certain order:

1. Remove stains - greasy, from tea and coffee, etc.
2. Wash the glass with detergent.
3. Rinse the glass thoroughly.
4. Apply a composition of chalk and water.
5. Wipe the glass with this compound and allow to dry.
6. Wipe up any residue with a dry soft cloth.

DIY frosting compound

1. Pour a glass of room temperature water into a bowl.
2. Pour there 4-5 tablespoons of crushed chalk or tooth powder.
3. Mix well.
4. Rub the glass.

Important! Periodically rub the glass suede.

What is necessary to refuse?

Both clear and frosted glass are easily scratched. Therefore, the use of abrasive pastes should be avoided. Glass surfaces are contraindicated:

• acids (except for food vinegar, which can be used to rub small spots);
• alkalis;
• petrol.

Important! You should be very careful about the use of ammonia, which is part of ammonia. It is necessary to monitor the concentration - not more than a few drops per bucket of water.

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Stock footage

Now you know about all the properties of frosted glass, how to make it with your own hands and how to properly care for interior items with such material. We hope that you will appreciate all the advantages of your choice and care will not be burdensome for you.