One project I wanted to try with the Silhouette cutter was glass etching. I cut this design (Bone Stitch Border C00225_19547) on vinyl, then stuck the inner piece to this white vase to spice it up. Couldn't let that shape go to waste.My real intention for the vinyl was to apply the leftover outline to a glass vase, paint in the spaces with etching cream, and peel off the vinyl to reveal the cool design on the vase. Cutting the vinyl went just fine, but then I hit a snag. Silhouette offers transfer paper intended to hold all your vinyl pieces in place while you position them. The idea is to stick it to the top side of the vinyl, then pull the backing off the vinyl. Adhere the design to your surface and pull the transfer paper off the front. All the vinyl pieces should remain attached to your surface.
Only they came up with the paper instead of sticking to the glass. My plans were foiled! Experienced transfer paper users, is there something I'm not understanding?
Did you rub the back of the transfer paper after you put the design on the glass? Sometimes the vinyl just needs to be encouraged a little to stick to the glass instead of the transfer paper. (Also, clear contact paper works great as transfer paper, and it's less expensive.)
ReplyDeleteI've used this type of vinyl transfer w/ backing before - you definitely have to rub the vinyl parts to get them to stick. Actually, with the type I used, I had to be careful to rub ONLY the vinyl or the backing would stick, too! Of course, I was transferring to paper, so it was a bigger problem if the backing stuck and then tore the paper.
ReplyDeleteWith Silhouette's transfer paper, sometimes it helps to make the transfer paper less sticky first by making it stick on a piece of fabric for instance. This way it's not super sticky and should help release the vinyl much easier. Good luck next time.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE my Silhouette! So what the others recommended is good advice with the rubbing. If that doesn't help though, make sure to wash the glass surface well before trying again. Sometimes with the glass it gets oils on it and makes it more difficult to stick anything to. Good luck with the etching. As another note, I leave the vinyl on when I wash it off, in case it needs to be touched up. The vinyl shouldn't doesn't come off on me. BTW - you should make the images on your fabrics available to use with the Silhouette. I would so buy them!
ReplyDeleteI don't have experience with this machine, but I used to apply vinyl for a sign shop. When applying to glass, we'd spray the glass with soapy water first, especially if the vinyl was very thin. We'd use a small plastic squeegee to rub it down, get all of the air bubbles and soapy water out ($0.75 from sign warehouse.com/4"poly blend squeegee, great for sealing tape for painting too.) Also.rub from the middle to edges. Then peel off the transfer tape. One other thing, the transfer tape we'd use was pretty similar if not exactly like plain old masking tape. Good luck:-)
ReplyDeleteWell, I like the new look of your vase, but I have no advice for you. (Can you believe that, coming from your Mother?!) ;)
ReplyDeleteAre you using Silhouette brand vinyl? I've found that their tape is stickier than their vinyl and it's usually quite a process to get it to stick to anything. A slick surface like glass is kind of a mess. I stuck some vinyl on soap dispensers (my most recent post) and ended up sticking most of it down a piece at a time.
ReplyDeleteYup, I'm using the Silhouette vinyl. That's my experience, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the tips, everyone. I'll work on perfecting my technique!
I have 2 vinyl decals in my house so far (thanks Etsy!) and I want MORE!!
ReplyDelete:-) Love them!
Here's a tutorial that I used....http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/06/glass-etching.html
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
also make sure that when you pull off the transfer paper you don't pull it off straight up (90 degrees) but you have to almost pull it off back onto itself (120 and 180 degrees.) make sense? No? go here to see what I mean!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.expressionsvinyl.com/pages/videos.php
and their vinyl is cheap!
Did you get it to work?
ReplyDeleteWipe the surface down with rubbing alcohol first to remove dirt and oil. Apply the decal. Blast with a hair dryer. Take a credit card and rub down the outside. Peel away transfer tape. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the "rubbing" :-)
ReplyDeleteI use the same technique but with ordinary vinyl, a utility knife and a transparent vinyl as the "transfer paper"
(It is in Hebrew but I think the picture are self explanatory :-)
http://www.tapuz.co.il/blog/ViewEntry.asp?EntryId=1785813&r=1
and some biger one
http://www.tapuz.co.il/blog/ViewEntry.asp?EntryId=1806354
I have some connections with a guy in the printing business who gave me industrial transfer tape & that stuff is the shiz. Sadly I've found that Silhouette's vinyl & transfer tape inferior to the industrial stuff.
ReplyDeleteCricut's vinyl is good, but WAYYYy overpriced. I've considered trying contact paper but haven't gotten around to it. I think that could work for some projects.
Is that the transfer tape pictured (the clear stuff?) I just order my silhouette (thanks to your blog) and it just arrived. The transfer tape I got looks like masking tape (yellowish and opaque) not clear. Perhaps they have changed it to make it easier.
ReplyDeleteYeah, maybe they changed it.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't need a huge sheet of transfer paper, consider using a strip of drywall mesh tape from the hardware store. They are amazing for transferring vinyl letters/phrases because of the grid pattern and super affordable. Also, you can reuse the strips more than once before it loses its stickiness. I love my Silhouette and am delighted you are blogging about them. It inspires me to find the time to play with it more often. Good Luck and look forward to reading more about your Silhouette crafts.
ReplyDeleteUse clear contact paper it is not as sticky as the Silhouette transfer paper and works great. It costs less and is easier to use.
ReplyDeleteI have a cricut (same idea) and they are right you need to rub to transfer but just as an FYI contact paper work not only as a transfer paper but it also works in place of the spendy vinyl! You can eve get some that looks like brushed stainless!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe transfer paper I have is more like masking tape. Love the project by the way - is that porcelain?
ReplyDeleteThe white vase is, yep!
ReplyDelete