how to make fake glass

Just in case I ever need this : )

How to Make Sugar Glass

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Sugar glass is a fake glass made from kitchen ingredients. It's used in film stunts because the edges aren't as sharp and dangerous. So when a bottle is broken over someone's head, or a person plummets through a window, this is the stuff you see. While you shouldn't tackle such outrageous stunts without the proper training and safety gear (see Warnings below) making your own sugar glass is an easy project.

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
  
• 1 cup light corn syrup
  
• 3.5 cups sugar
  
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  
• cooking spray
  

Steps

1. Mix water, corn syrup, sugar, and cream of tartar in the pot. Stir often and bring it to a boil slowly. If you boil it too quickly, it'll caramelize. As it heats up, it'll go from a cloudy color to clear.
   
2. Heat the mixture to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), then remove from heat. This should take at least an hour. Use a candy thermometer, but be careful not to let it fall in the mixture (as shown in the video below). You might want to tie it with a string or find another means of holding it up without your hands.
   
   • Note that somewhere between 210 and 240 degrees F, the temperature will stop rising temporarily, so don't think the thermometer stopped working.
     
   • The sugar glass mixture will stick to the skin and cause burns. Don't dip your finger in or let it splash.
     
   • At some point it may also begin to turn yellow. It will take lots of sugar glass making practice to learn exactly when is the right time to remove the mixture from heat so that the glass is clear, but still hard.
     
   
   
3. Spray the cookie sheet generously with cooking spray.
   
4. Pour the hot mixture very carefully (and with thick gloves) into the cookie sheet. Pour slowly to minimize bubbles.
   
5. Put the cookie sheet on an even surface. This will help the mixture spread out evenly so that the finished glass isn't thicker on some spots and thinner on others. Leave the mixture to dry for about an hour. After 25 minutes it should be cool enough to touch, but it isn't hardened, so don't take it out until the full hour has passed.
   
6. Carefully remove the dry glass from the cookie sheet. Take a knife and heat it up under hot water, then carefully cut along the very edge where the glass meets the edge of the pan. Carefully pry it up. Then flip it over and slowly lift the pan away from the sugar glass that is resting on your hand.
   

Video

Tips

• For best results, use the glass immediately. With time it'll warp and get sticky, so prepare the glass right before you need it.
  
• Don't let the sugar glass sit in a moist area or direct sun. It's essentially candy and will start to melt or get sticky like candy. Humid days are not good days to work with sugar glass.
  
• Make your "glass" as thick or thin as you want. You can also experiment with shapes by using a variety of molds.
  
• Make colored "glass" by adding food colouring.
  
• Make brown "glass" by using brown sugar.
  
• If you have trouble removing the mixture residue from the pot, add water and boil it to dilute the sugar mixture. Pour it out carefully.
  

Warnings

• Sugar glass is still sharp! There's still a good chance you'll get cut.
  
• No, it does not taste good. Don't eat it.
  

Things You'll Need

• measuring cup
  
• candy thermometer
  
• pot
  
• cookie sheet - this will be your mold, so get one in the size/shape that you need
  

Sources and Citations

• IndyMogul.com - Original source, shared with permission.
  

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