Help- Lighting

[icicle]

Has anyone tried to use etched glass as an diffusion filter (to make soft light)?

As some of you know I have two 250 watt Halogen work lights, What I would like to do is replace the front clear glass with etched glass to create less harsh light while trying to preserve 80%+ of light transfer.

[freygr]

You can use ground glass also, and you can make your own ground glass it just takes about 30 minutes to ground the glass. You can get the grit from many places: lapidary (rock hounds), science stores (astronomy store with mirror making kits), industrial abrasive supply houses, and over the web.