Study of the influence of etching mixture components on the frosted glass effect

Abstract The wide use of glass results from its easy accessibility, plasticity and the possibility of modifications that change its strength and functional properties. In order to reduce the transparency of the glass, the material is subjected to a matting process. The aim of the research was to select the components of the matting mixture so that the glass surface was modified to give the "frosted glass" effect. Cluster analysis, Pareto diagrams of parameters significantly affecting the size of the pits formed during the chemical etching of glasses, profiles of approximated values and the usefulness of the chemical etching analysis of the glass surface were presented. The use of HCl and NH4F enables even matting of the glass surface. The addition of Na2CO3 did not significantly affect the matting process of the glass surface and the higher concentration of BaSO4 causes the formation of crystallites on the glass surface.