sorry if this is extremely ot but need to find this to etch a bathtub for painting. I googled and called, home depo-ed, the mall… but to no avail.
tia
virtually yours
Try a hobby store, you might be able to find it in paste form for etching glass. Otherwise, just regular HF might be available at Home Depot/Ace or Amazon.
Careful, don’t burn your face off.
Search for Tile Etching Cream. Some may be based on hydrofluoric acid, but any of them might do what you need.
I’m compelled to emphasize the inherent safety issues required for dealing with HF. Be very careful with this stuff. I doubt you would find it at the regular hardware store. It will do terrible things if note careful including ( I hear) dissolve your bones. End of safety warning.
Is that the same stuff they use for cleaning cars? If so, then it is really is some (non-obviously) dangerous stuff.
I really suggest you try to find a better method than use of HF. I am a chemist by training, have used a myriad of really nasty chemicals including those that burst into flame if they come in contact with air, and I still try to do everything possible to avoid working with HF. Even for skin exposure in area as small as 1"x1" with relatively dilute solutions it is suggested that you go the ER. HF easily penetrates the skin and can cause deep tissue and bone loss for days after exposure. Depending on the dilution, pain often takes several hours to manifest so you may not realize you have a burn until it is way to late to do anything about it at home. Instead, you end up in the hospital getting an injection to try and neutralize it and limit the damage. At the hospital they won’t give you painkillers as the level of pain is one of the best indications of how well the treatment is working. If you work with it, even in very dilute state, you really should have calcium gluconate solution near by for neutralization in the event you even think exposure might have happened.
Having said all that, I agree your best bet will be to check a hobby store for glass etching pastes. I don’t think you will find straight HF anywhere but a chemical supply company.
thanks folks, here is the link to the vid where I saw it:
'll add my vote to avoiding HF for etching – I know a guy, a highly skilled and experienced technician, who got HF on his hand, and they had to excise a lot of tissue to get it all out.
There are other glass etching products out there, but several of them use fluoride compounds, and might not be any safer. Try googling “non-acid glass etching” and you’ll see some alternatives.
If you decide to go this route, wear gloves and a face mask. And I’d have some calcium gluconate nearby if I was using HF.
I ordered some etching cream to see how it does…
The hf does sound a bit overwhelming
thanks again all
Here’s one - Ammonium Bifluoride is the chemical I’d heard of that is used in place of HF
Nothing I’ve read about it suggests that it’s as insidiously dangerous as HF, with its delayed-reaction burns and its deadening of the pain response, but I’d still be wary of it.
yeah anything that can destructively react on glass can harm your body. better living through safe and careful chemistry.
read about safety and be thoroughly prepared.
Anything with fluorine can be nasty. Including medications. Fluoroquinolones (a class of antibiotics) can produce gruesome and irreversible adverse effects.
You wouldn’t want to etch your glass with O[sub]2[/sub]F[sub]2[/sub], also called FOOF or dioxygen difluoride.
Read all about it here. This stuff causes some real excitement. But he talks, more generally, about fluorine compounds in general, suggesting that even seasoned chemists with nerves of steel prefer to stay away – far far away.
If HF (especially in high concentration) deadens the pain while it transforms your body into soup, it may be just the thing the Oklahoma Correctional system is looking for.
Moderator Note
Let’s keep political commentary out of GQ. No warning issued, but stick to the topic.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
A truly grisly thought. Nobody suggest it to them – somebody might try it. And it’s a slow enough process to be tragic.
Moderator Note
Again, let’s stick to the subject of the thread, rather than methods of execution.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
You could use the cream in http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/shop/materials/glass-etching/item-number/kit-glass
But why don’t you just do it mechanically if you just want to roughen it? Get some sandpaper.
Your post chiding him wasn’t there when I posted. And I was trying to dissuade him from the idea.
HF is a poison - it can cause death by cardiac arrest. It’s really best to stay away from the stuff if you can.
LOL