Seems to me that the French use sabler not solely for the technique involved but also for the result obtained. If the result is a sand-blasted appearance, sablage is used, even if acid etching was the process involved.

In English we may tend to use "etch" even where the technique is "sand blasting". As I said in Discussion, we tend to use "sand blasting" - both the technique and the word - when larger areas are concerned, and "etching" - both the word and the technique, again - when dealing with fine work such as lettering or motifs.

Effets du sablage [modifier]
La PROJECTION DE SABLE A GRANDE VITESSE sur une surface a plusieurs effets :
• il décape, désoxyde, enlève une couche superficielle fragile (peinture par exemple) ;
• il crée une rugosité, qui facilite l'accroche d'un revêtement, ou donne un aspect à un moule pour pièces en plastique, c'est une bonne preparation avant peinture.
• il dépolit, notamment le verre, aspect "verre sablé".
• UTILISE POUR LA GRAVURE (NUMEROS DE SERIE SUR LES VITRES DE VOITURES, noms sur les pierres tombales). [ ... ]
Elle est UTILISEE POUR TATOUER LES VITRES DES AUTOMOBILES avec un numéro spécifique, on utilise un sable très fin et un pochoir du motif à reproduire. Cela tend à dissuader les voleurs de dérober le véhicule.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sablage

Not absolutely positive, but I tend to think the numbers on car windows are etched rather than sand blasted ...

La décoration par sablage permet de traiter une large palette de matériaux tels que le verre, le cristal, le marbre, le cuivre, le bois, les bijoux, la céramique. Les effets esthétiques produits par le sablage sont multiples :
• estompe ou satinage de la transparence
• modulation dans la diffusion de la lumière
• création d'un effet "moelleux" sur la peau du verre
• POSSIBILITÉ D'INTRODUIRE DES ÉLÉMENTS GRAPHIQUES (LÉGENDES, LOGOS, LIGNES) EXTRÊMEMENT PRÉCIS sur la surface du verre.
• dans la pratique du vitrail, on réalise des rendus artistiques avec du verre plaqué en éliminant la couche plaquée colorée afin de laisser apparaître le verre de base à tendance colorée claire.
Voir aussi :
La gravure à l’acide fluorhydrique
http://www.infovitrail.com/decoration/sablage.php

Note that the above-referenced article on gravure à l’acide fluorhydrique refers back to this article, le sablage du verre, which I think is an indication that the two processes are indeed confused.

There is obviously some confusion in English too:

Now TAKE YOUR PICK OF A ETCHING PROCESS. There are a few different ways that you can chose to etch or engrave the glass to leave a permanent marking. One way is to USE A GLASS ETCHING CREAM that can be purchased in hobby stores such as "Armour Etch" or "Etch All". The SECOND CHOSE IS TO USE A ENGRAVING TOOL SUCH AS A ROTARY DREMEL TOOL. To etch the glass this way you would have to need a steady hand to follow the pattern though. THE THIRD WAY IS TO USE A SANDBLASTER which blasts high pressure abrasives that lightly chips the surface of the glass.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5586659_make-glass-wine-bottle-gift....

Etched Images, located in California's Napa Valley, DEEP ETCHES (SAND BLASTS) and paints wine bottles with your logo, label, or message. ...
www.etchedimages.com/

If you watch the video here
http://www.etchworld.com/ecom-catshow/Sand Etch Kits.html
you'll see that "sand etching" is sand blasting.


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Note added at 9 hrs (2010-12-08 01:07:24 GMT)
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Oops! This was supposed to be in there somewhere too:

AUTO GLASS ETCHING is an effective tool to reduce and prevent car thefts. They involve CHEMICAL ETCHES of the VIN and serial numbers on the vehicle's windows, yet leave no defacing marks on the glass. Auto glass etches make car parts essentially worthless, thus making them cost prohibitive to potential thieves.
http://www.ehow.com/about_4672891_auto-glass-etching.html

It's not easy to find anything about "sand blasting" of VIN numbers onto car glass. "Etching" on the other hand comes up plenty.

The reason for this difference between "etching" in English and sablage in French may be explained by the following (yet another example of how when a technique changes the English use a new word, whereas the stick-in-the-mud French continue to use the old word):

The Mark Walmesley Group has been involved in the field of AUTOMOTIVE GLASS ETCHING since 1984. During the 80's we not only manufactured stencils but also crewed lot installation for many dealerships across the United States. Most of the stencils at this time were of "punched plastic" and the CODES SAND BLASTED INTO THE GLASS. TOWARDS THE END OF THE 80'S ACID ETCHING BECAME THE APPLICATION OF CHOICE. We created two types of the acid stencils; VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) and Pre Coded (Sequencial Coding). VIN stencils were produced at the car dealerships utilizing either our VINmate 2000 lap top computer or software we developed for the PC.
http://etchacar.com/aboutus.htm

[BTW, what sort of name is "Mark Walmesley" for an American? It's almost as ridiculous as "Julian Assange" for an Australian!]

So I wonder, do the French actually sand blast VIN numbers onto auto glass, or have they too moved on to acid etching but kept the old word? In my experience I'd say No and Yes.