View Full Version : Help! How to clean decals off glass?
Hi ya'll!
I have access to a few hundred wine glasses for the wedding (if I want them), but have one big problem. They all say Livermore something or other on them with the year on them... the wrong year!
I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas or ways to clean off decals from the glass. Here's a picture of the glasses. We tried using steel wool, but that scratched the glass. Tried using a knife, but of course that scratched it. Kerosene or Mineral something or other my stepdad had didn't work either. There is still an outline of the writing on the glass. Any ideas??
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a176/Ford4x4Chik27/MoWeddStuff009.jpg
LadyDante
02-25-2008, 02:58 AM
What about etching an image over it? That may take the decal off and give a pretty frosty picture.
MsNikkiCole
02-25-2008, 08:33 AM
Usually when removing stickers, fingernail polish remover works great. I'm not sure about decals though. Just a thought. Good luck!
SerendipityCrafts
02-25-2008, 09:11 AM
If they aren't actually a decal (ie sticker) but printed on .... you could try paint thinner, mineral spirits, solvent but .... if these things don't work, you are pretty much SOL.
The only other thing you could do is to paint over the design.
StaceyMc
02-25-2008, 10:15 AM
If it's a decal, try "Goo Gone". Peanut butter takes stickers off of stuff too, and vegetable oil. Good luck!
They're not exactly a decal... it's what they use to print on glass etc, it's a layer like a decal, but it's not etched.
I can have them etched and just give them a frosty look, but the problem with that is that would cost more than just buying them from the dollar tree.
Hmmmm..... Tried Mineral spirits... it took the paint off, but there's still an outline :(
WebLady
02-25-2008, 11:08 AM
With decals I usually use a razor blade and Windex; not sure what to do in this situation though. Good luck!
We did try a razor blade.... it took the paint off, but there's still an outline of the writing. It also scratched the glass. I wouldn't mind steel wooling the entire glass and giving it a brushed look, but I just don't want to see the writing - it looks tacky with 2006 and 2007 on my 2008 wedding wine glasses LOL. :D
WebLady
02-25-2008, 12:13 PM
Our Dollar Tree has some plain wine glasses, yours didn't have any plain ones?
ETA - Never mind, I just re-read your opening post ... I don't know why I thought you got these at the Dollar Tree :bbredface:
Because I started a dollar tree post about the candy buffet :D
I do want to get them from the dollar tree, BUT - at $1 a piece, that means $180 in glasses... and I don't want to spend that much.
WebLady
02-25-2008, 12:25 PM
Because I started a dollar tree post about the candy buffet :D
I do want to get them from the dollar tree, BUT - at $1 a piece, that means $180 in glasses... and I don't want to spend that much.
Maybe that was it ... Oh I hear ya ;)
LadyDante
02-25-2008, 12:51 PM
They're not exactly a decal... it's what they use to print on glass etc, it's a layer like a decal, but it's not etched.
I can have them etched and just give them a frosty look, but the problem with that is that would cost more than just buying them from the dollar tree.
Hmmmm..... Tried Mineral spirits... it took the paint off, but there's still an outline :(
You can etch it yourself. Just go to a Hobby store and look for glass etching kits or pick one up on ebay :)
StaceyMc
02-25-2008, 12:53 PM
I vote buy plastic champagne/wine glasses and call it a day. I did that - they looked great on the table and no one really cared.
I vote buy plastic champagne/wine glasses and call it a day. I did that - they looked great on the table and no one really cared.
The two piece ones? How did they work for you? I'm afraid of them coming apart.... ?
bichonlvr
02-25-2008, 01:54 PM
What about getting it off and adding a decal or sticker of your own for the outline?
What about getting it off and adding a decal or sticker of your own for the outline?
That would work, except for you'd be able to see it through the inside of the glass :bblol: I was thinking about gluing some pretty elastic ribbon around each glass... that would cover the outside.. but it would still be visible from the inside. So I'm tossing that idea up and down right now...
spuls5
02-25-2008, 04:48 PM
Easy Off Oven Cleaner. Be careful with it though. We used to use this on our racecars to get paint lettering off the cars to re-letter them.
SerendipityCrafts
02-25-2008, 04:52 PM
Easy Off Oven Cleaner. Be careful with it though. We used to use this on our racecars to get paint lettering off the cars to re-letter them.
Mentally filing that bit of info for future use :) Thanks!
Blusher
02-25-2008, 04:54 PM
I agree w/ ladyDante --you can get this stuff you just paint on and it 'eats' the glass and makes it look etched...I used in on a little cabinet that I had that got all scratched on the glass panels....it worked well for me.....
Oh I'm lovin it.. that means this might just might work! Now I have to convince Matt to take me to a craft store after work :D
EarlyBird
02-25-2008, 06:09 PM
i agree, get the etching.. or lower the lights :) NO seriously.. the fact of the matter is, nobody is going to look on the INSIDE of the glasses. really, if you add the ribbon or another decal of your own.. nobody will see the inside.. they are drinking their wine up, not looking inside their cup :)
Very good point.. if the etching doesn't work, I just might try getting a stretchy satin ribbon and seeing how that works.... :D
EarlyBird
02-25-2008, 06:56 PM
yah this is one of those things that immedietly need to be added to your "I DONT CARE list" b/c as long as you cant see if from the outside, insist everyone drink red wine and they wont be able to see it at all for sure from inside :) Hheeh just kidding, they can have white but they still wont see it..
tell me, when was the last time you looked inside your glass if you were not the one pouring the drink :)
yah this is one of those things that immedietly need to be added to your "I DONT CARE list" b/c as long as you cant see if from the outside, insist everyone drink red wine and they wont be able to see it at all for sure from inside :) Hheeh just kidding, they can have white but they still wont see it..
tell me, when was the last time you looked inside your glass if you were not the one pouring the drink :)
Good point :D :D
EarlyBird
02-25-2008, 07:12 PM
If you read back in my journal you'll find one day i came up with my i dont give a (rhymes with duck) list.
It was one of those things that i was fretting over and then all of the sudden my mom was like "And when was the last time you noticed something so ridiculous" and i was like YOUR RIGHT.. and immediatly, that decision to not give a (rhymes with duck) saved me like 500$ :)
Sometimes other people need to point it out..make the list, add this to it.. On the other hand the elastic ribbon is a great idea if it sticks well and doesnt come off :)
Good info.. and thank you, you're right! I'm trying to convince Matt to take me to the crafts store to try the etching stuff... (my truck had a flat when I got up this morning - that should have warned me to beware today). I'll try to get on later and letchya'll know if it works!
Thank you all for your help and your ideas! They paid off! So I got some of that glass etching cream and decided I'd give it a shot. It didn't work with the paint still on the glass as shown below, so I scraped off some of the paint and there was still a bit of an outline:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a176/Ford4x4Chik27/wineglasses001.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a176/Ford4x4Chik27/wineglasses002.jpg
One of the sets says "Dine * Love * Play * Shop * " on it.... so I figured if I can take out the "Downtown Livermore 2007", then the 4 words can stay (they're purple and green - like some of my flowers!).
Here's some more of my attempts before this though:
After scraping off the paint:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a176/Ford4x4Chik27/wineglasses005-1.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a176/Ford4x4Chik27/wineglasses006.jpg
Lathered up:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a176/Ford4x4Chik27/wineglasses008.jpg
Still a few specs after being washed off:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a176/Ford4x4Chik27/wineglasses010.jpg
So by this time I'm thinkin.. that's a LOT of scraping!! So, let's switch to the other glasses... hmm...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a176/Ford4x4Chik27/wineglasses011.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a176/Ford4x4Chik27/wineglasses012.jpg
Scraping off the Downtown Livermore 2007:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a176/Ford4x4Chik27/wineglasses013.jpg
Lathered up: About here, I'm thinkin Hey, that looks like the base of a heart....
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a176/Ford4x4Chik27/wineglasses014.jpg
After over an hour of playing around with designs, ruining 3 glasses....
Here's the final product!!! I'm so PSYCHED. I'm going to make a stencil so that we can do this to all of these glasses...
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a176/Ford4x4Chik27/wineglasses018.jpg
The attempts
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a176/Ford4x4Chik27/wineglasses019.jpg
I couldn't get a good pic of it, but here's another final pic.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a176/Ford4x4Chik27/wineglasses015.jpg
bichonlvr
02-26-2008, 12:04 AM
Perfect!!!!!
EarlyBird
02-26-2008, 12:40 AM
so exciting. worst comes to worst you go ahead and put dark ribbon on the ones that are very hard to do - if they didnt scrape right :)
noone says they all have to be the same.. they look great!!!
NOTKT
02-26-2008, 01:08 AM
Wow! I was really hoping that you would find something that worked! The glass looks great! :)
Thanks!! I showed it to Matt and his mom and they both loved em. I believe there are like 30 cases of these glasses at 12 per case.. I don't think quantity will be a problem :D I'm psyched! Thank you gals for the ideas, ya'll rock!
smileyone2002
02-26-2008, 09:21 AM
Those look great! I am glad that you got everything figured out!!:laugh:
spuls5
02-26-2008, 10:17 AM
Looks good. I did glass etching in high school crafts class LOL. There is contact paper you can buy. It's kinda like a hazed/smoked sticker you stick on the glass. You can also do this on Mirrors. You then use Carbon paper to draw your design onto the contact paper, or trace onto the contact paper. Then use a utility knife to cut out your design on the contact paper. After you have it cut out use the etching paste and cover your design. Since you have the contact paper on the etching paste only goes where you cut out your design. You wipe it off when done then take the remaining contact paper off and your design will be left.
Do a search for Glass Etching. Here is a site I found
http://www.glass-etching-kits.com/
OMG after looking at that site I think I may give it a try! :D
I'm still wondering if easy off oven cleaner would work on your glasses. LOL. But I don't know if it would dull the glass or not.
spuls5
02-26-2008, 10:31 AM
I just found another idea for etching. Use masking tape as your 'contact paper'.
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/ca_crafts_projects/article/0,2041,DIY_13721_2273250,00.html
There is so much you can do with etching
StaceyMc
02-26-2008, 10:32 AM
The two piece ones? How did they work for you? I'm afraid of them coming apart.... ?
They worked fine. I didn't see any of them come apart and in fact, I think they made a "snap" noise when they were put together.
But, I'm glad that you found something that worked for you.
Do a search for Glass Etching. Here is a site I found
http://www.glass-etching-kits.com/
OMG after looking at that site I think I may give it a try! :D
I'm still wondering if easy off oven cleaner would work on your glasses. LOL. But I don't know if it would dull the glass or not.
Thank you! If I have any oven cleaner at home, I'll give it a shot and let you know :) I have a few glasses that I won't be using anyway :D
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