- 1). Close the French doors so they don’t move while you are etching them. Place a drop cloth over the floor on the side of the door that you are etching to protect it from damage. Apply strips of painter's tape to the wood trim around each glass panel to protect them as well.
- 2). Spray the glass with glass cleaner and wipe it with a lint-free cloth to remove all smudges and oil. Wait until the glass dries before proceeding.
- 3). Locate your desired stencil and place it on a piece of newspaper on a table, face down. Spray the entire back surface of the stencil with a light coat of removable spray adhesive, often called mounting spray, so that it is detachable later.
- 4). Place the stencil up to one of the French door panels and press it firmly onto the glass with your fingers. Apply four strips of painter’s tape around the edges of the stencil to protect the area of glass that you don’t want to etch.
- 5). Put on disposable rubber gloves and eye goggles.
- 6). Open a bottle of glass etching solution and insert a foam paintbrush into the mixture 1/2 inch. Paint the mixture onto the glass until it is 1/4 inch thick. Ensure that you cover all open areas of the stencil using the solution.
- 7). Wait 10 to 15 minutes, or the amount of time indicated on the etching solution bottle. Wipe off the etching solution from the stencil using paper towels until as much of it is gone as possible.
- 8). Fill bucket with 1/2 gallon of warm water and 1 to 2 tsp. dish soap. Insert a nonabrasive sponge into the soap mixture and squeeze it out. Wash the entire pane of glass using light motions to remove all traces of the etching material.
- 9). Peel off the painter’s tape and then grasp the edge of the stencil and pull it off gently and slowly. Spray the pane of glass with glass cleaner and gently wipe it clean with a lint-free cloth to remove streaks.
Source...