Frosted glass is produced by the sandblasting or acid etching of clear sheet glass

Glass

Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...

. It has the effect of rendering the glass translucent by scattering

Scattering

Scattering is a general physical process where some forms of radiation, such as light, sound, or moving particles, are forced to deviate from a straight trajectory by one or more localized non-uniformities in the medium through which they pass. In conventional use, this also includes deviation of...

 of light during transmission, thus blurring

Visual appearance

The visual appearance of objects is given by the way in which they reflect and transmit light. The color of objects is determined by the parts of the spectrum of light that are reflected or transmitted without being absorbed...

 images while still transmitting light.

Applications:

• To obtain visual privacy while admitting light.
• Decorative patterns may be imposed upon otherwise plain glass by using wax or other resist to retain transparent areas.
• Frosted glass in light bulbs is used for evenly distributing the light from the bulb's filament across its surface area.
• To distribute light uniformly in a photographic contact printer.
• To create an airtight seal in tubes.

The frosted glass effect can also be achieved by the application of vinyl film, used as a sort of stencil on the glass surface. "Photo-resist", or photo-resistant film is also available, which can be produced to mask off the area surrounding a decorative design, or logo on the glass surface.
A similar effect may also be accomplished with the use of canned frosted glass sprays.