How to frost clear light bulbs
 

The EU, our big paradise,

has abolished incandescent lamps with frosted bulbs in 2009. For me this is an unacceptable loss of beauty, peace and friendliness in our world. For some purposes I do not at all want to abstain from this beautiful light. Therefore I was searching for a method to frost clear bulbs. It is very easy: Except by sandblasting it can be done by applying Amour Etch Cream, which I found on eBay.de with worldwide search.
The package came from the US and cost in about 12€ including postage to Austria.

Just grind the bulb a little with sandpaper (P600) to hurt the surface only a little. This makes the etching much more efficient and faster. Apply 2 or 3 times the etching cream with a paint brush. 3oz will last for around 20 bulbs.

Product info can be found here: Home

Are you sure this will work on light bulbs?

I have two concerns:
1. Sanding a bulb with sandpaper, as well as etching it with the cream, weakens the glass.
2. Cycling the temperature of the glass as happens every time you turn the bulb on or off creates stresses on the glass that, compounded by 1., may cause the bulb to break spontaneously or while handling it, e.g. when changing the bulb.

Be very careful with this solution.

BTW what does the EU have against frosted glass? Here in NA governments are beginning to ban the sale of incandescent bulbs in general, clear and frosted, in order to force us to use more energy-efficient lamps like CFL and LED.

I've tried it with meanwhile I think 5 bulbs up to 70W. It just works!
The sandpaper (P600) surely does not weaken the glass, the scratches are nearly not even visible. I came to this method, after I had treated the first bulb. With this one I needed to apply the etching cream maybe 6-8 times, until the result was acceptable.
I assume that the surface of the glass is different from the rest. Maybe it is harder or some chemicals are enriched in this area. After scratching with the P600 paper etching worked by far better.

Sandblasting is (now) not my favorite any more. As the glass is truly very thin, it is really difficult not to destroy or damage the bulb.

EU means that frosted bulbs waste more electricity than clear bulbs. Step by step they ban bulbs with lower and lower power consumption. Last year it killed the 60Ws. All frosted ones are banned since 2009 except some types for special applications like ovenlamps or shockproof versions for industrial use.

Energy saving lamps are efficient, but their light is ugly.........., maybe there is some hope for a good development. Recently I found on eBay a bright LED-lamp with a remote control which could adjust the colour temperature between 2800 and 6000K. We'll see.