Sandblast engraving — guide

How to engrave a design into glass or metal: cut a vinyl mask, stick it on the piece, and blast the exposed areas in the blast cabinet. This guide follows the engraving course. It is easier the first time with someone who has done it before.

Sandblast engraving in a nutshell

Sandblast engraving in a nutshell


1. Prepare the design

  • Use a vector design. Raster images (PNG, JPG) can be traced to vector in Illustrator or Inkscape; there are plenty of videos on how.

  • Many very small parts make weeding hard.

  • Measure the piece and size the design to fit, leaving margin to mask around it.

  • Tip: add a narrow rectangle to the design to help align the mask on the piece.


2. Cut the vinyl

Cut the design on one of the vinyl cutters and follow that machine's page. Use the green vinyl roll (pay in the webshop) or a leftover piece from the drawer, big enough to cover the area round the design. Test cut first: the vinyl should cut cleanly without cutting through the backing sheet.

The original course used the Roland GX-24, which has been sold; its old instructions are under Previous Machines.

3. Make the mask

  1. Put transfer paper over the front of the cut vinyl and press it down with a card. It holds the pieces in place.

  2. Peel off the white backing. Fold it back sharply as you peel so small pieces stay put.

  3. Weed: remove every part of the vinyl that should be engraved. Whatever you remove will be blasted. Use the pick and tweezers in the vinyl cutter drawer. On complex designs, work from the outside in.

  4. Stick the mask on the piece, aligned first time; it is hard to reposition. Weed the alignment rectangle and cover it afterwards.

  5. Press the mask down well with a card, then peel the transfer paper off slowly at a steep angle.

  6. Press all edges down again. Loose edges let sand in and blur the result. On curved pieces, make small relief cuts.

  7. Cover the rest of the piece with leftover vinyl, tape or masking paper. Sand bouncing round the cabinet scratches unprotected areas. Use vinyl close to the design, as masking paper may not hold.

4. Blast

Follow the blast cabinet page for checks and safety. In addition:

  1. Make sure the building ventilation is on. Start the air cleaner with the timer at 4 hours.

  2. Open the red valve under the right side of the cabinet about 20° to help the sand circulate.

  3. Hold the piece in one glove and the gun in the other, about 15 cm from the work.

  4. Blast for about 20 seconds. It can be hard to see whether it has engraved, especially on aluminium. To check, switch off the extractor and close the red valve first.

  5. When done, close the red valve, let the extractor run another 60 seconds, then switch it off and take out the piece.

  6. Clean the floor, switch off the cabinet light and leave the air cleaner running on its timer.

5. Finish

Peel off the vinyl over a surface that is easy to clean, as sand gets caught in it. Pay for the vinyl you used.