lol, My dad would love this. And I might recieve less random calls asking if I have one of his Pyrex pie pans... It might even make me feel guilty when I realize that I do.

If you're gonna do this - Don't etch the inside of the dish, but the outside.

If it's inside, food will stick to the inside and it's gonna be a impossible to clean.

This is brilliant - I love this idea. I think do this for a housewarming gift down the road!

It would, indeed, make a lovely present for someone.

I wouldn't take the time and energy to do it for myself. I've always used my clear, preprinted address labels on the bottom and it works just fine. Bake the pan a few times and the label is pretty much fused onto the dish.

When I take a dish with me I always use a disposable dish or tray. I'm usually asked to bring a cheesecake so I use a corrugated cardboard round and put it in a cardboard box -- both recyclable. The only downside is that people at the event who don't know me always insist my cheesecakes come from a bakery and use the professional packaging as additional proof.

My long winded point is -- it's easier for you and your hostess not to have to find, empty, wash, dry and drag home your serving dish.

What a brilliant idea!

I tend to use cheap disposable dishes when bringing a dish to someone's home. That way I won't have to worry about forgetting to take the dish home at the end of the party.

I discovered last year that the deli section of my little local grocery store sells the big plastic platters covered with plastic domes- the kind they use if you order a party platter. Now I just ask at the deli whenever I want one - they are only a couple of dollars.

I tend to buy nice bakeware so I wouldn't dare ruining it this way. It's much easier to put a small sticker on the lid with my initials.

You can just order a personalized dish from a company that does this professionally. Quicker, easier.

Or, easier still, you can just bring your food in a disposable dish. No dish to wash, nothing to carry home.

I think this is an environmentally responsible alternative to a disposable dish, and one that others will envy! There are lots of disposables that recycle, but none that will save the energy and resources of this glass dish. If I were your hostess, I would appreciate that you care enough about the environment to use sustainable glassware dish rather than a cheap plastic disposable, even if it means I might have to wash a few dishes. And what hostess likes to serve out of plastic anyway?!

wouldn't this ruin the integrity of the dish and make it easier to bust in the oven? Or am I just thinking crazy?

Love this idea! (Or I would if I cooked!!) ;^)

LOL...i love this.

Glass pans are about 1/2 an inch thick, etching effects only about 1/20 of the glass or so. Since it roughens the glass but does not cut or begin any fracturing of the glass it should not hurt the integrity of the glass at all.

I'm surprised that plastic address labels last through even one baking and washing cycle.

Cally - You aren't realizing any change to the structure of the glass pan weakens it. Granted you are right it's by a small amount but it is still a weakness. If it was okay for the middle of the pan to be that thin, companies would start making them thinner thereby saving themselves a ton of money.

I'm with the folks who think this is not a good idea. I'm no glass engineer, but I think the etching might create a stress riser - a weak spot that might cause the dish to grenade itself.

Follow up: I checked with some folks who are more familiar with this stuff and they all agree that this is a bad idea. Sandblasting, etching and the like should be done BEFORE the glass is tempered.

etching cream does not work on pyrex.

My mother used to mark the bottom of pie plates with nail polish. I don't know if it's safe, but we're all still alive. I usually use a Sharpie. I use it on serving spoons with metal handles, and underneath pans. Also, I try to use pans and spoons that are not my favorites, so if something happens, I'm not too upset.

Considering I just read/saw the Consumer Reports story about the possibility of glass bakeware shattering.... I think I might not want to change the structure of the glass. Granted, I think common sense has a lot to do with whether or not someone might experience their bakeware shattering.... hot dish on a cool, wet counter? (really??) Hmm.

Speaking as someone who has had glass explode in the oven, I do not think this is a good idea. It's not an issue of the thickness of the glass, its that you are eliminating the tempering. Tempering balances the stresses in the glass by inducing compressive stresses in the surface of the glass that balance the tensile stresses in the body of the glass. If you damage the outer layer, you are eliminating the balance of forces, and essentially eliminating the tempering of the glass. This would mean an increased likelihood of glass exposion at normal oven temperatures. This technique is fine for serving wear, but NOT ok for glass that will go int the oven.

I did this to my pyrex prior to reading all of these comments, and it turned out great. I used my cricut to cut the vinyl and the etching cream that came with it, so it didn't take more than 15 minutes of my time. I have already baked and cleaned out of the pan with no problems, so we shall see!

But I do see all of the concerns of the other posters...

For people who are concerned about glass etching, how about painting or stenciling on the outside of the glass using one of those faux stained glass paints. There are some that you bake on, and are dishwasher safe. I think the main thing is that you don't put the paint in contact with the food. http://www.your-decorative-painting-resource.com/glass-paint.html

I have pans that are Pyrex that I did this to years ago and have used weekly since. I haven't had any problems with anything. The pans are always returned, never mistakenly taken from potlucks, and people always comment how great it looks. I etched the underside of a 9x13, 2 loafs, and 2 8x8s in 2005, put them in the oven, microwave, and dishwasher and have had no problems.
I tried to do my ikea pans, but the etch cream had no effect.