looking for some acid etching secrets....

Dwarlock · Post by **Dwarlock** » Fri Aug 10, 2001 4:20 pm

ok several years ago here at the archive i remember someone saying that one easy way of doing the resist for acid etching, was to print out a picture on a laser printer, and then use an iron to transfer the picture to steel, using the toner as a resist fot the acid. I recently aquired a laser printer, ad attempted this method, with no luck, anyone got any advice???

thanks all

Dwarlock

albatros · Post by **albatros** » Fri Aug 10, 2001 4:23 pm

yeah buy vinyl stickers from me! I know they work well for brass but havent tried on steel.

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Conrad the Mad

Brandr · Post by **Brandr** » Fri Aug 10, 2001 4:29 pm

responded to privately

Edric · Post by **Edric** » Fri Aug 10, 2001 5:41 pm

Dwarlock-
The way I do it is to paint the brass with paint, shellac, clear-coat, whatever. Then I use a sharpie to put the design on the paint, and scratch off the area to be etched with a sharp pointy object. Works good for me, but you do have to take the time to let the paint dry.If you find a better way, please share

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--Edric--

Flos est puellarum, quam diligio, et rosa rosarum, quam sepe video.
"My love is a flower among virgins, and a rose among roses"

Llywelyn · Post by **Llywelyn** » Sat Aug 11, 2001 8:09 pm

Greetings,

hmm, this sounds interesting, can someone tell me more?

Llywelyn

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Stay open minded, but not so open minded that your brains fall out.

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I am neater with a 5lbs. cross pein than with a ball point pen!

PaulyP · Post by **PaulyP** » Mon Aug 13, 2001 1:34 pm

The Sharpie Method- This is what I use on copper and brass. The method is very simple. Make sure your metal is clean, draw the design on with a Sharpie and drop the metal into a bath of circuit board etchant. You can get this at Radio Shack for a few dollars. It works like a charm. Also, it is not truly an acid, so you don't have to be AS cautious. (Remember though that this is a chemical that eats away metal.)
After sitting for about 1/2 hour in the etchant, you wash t off, and then I simply use Brasso to clean it up.

Here is a link for a great article on etching:

http://members.nbci.com/colluphid/pattern/etching.html

Garridan · Post by **Garridan** » Mon Aug 13, 2001 3:42 pm

Isn't PCB etchant muriatic acid? Muriatic acid is, of course, another name for hydrochloric acid...

My PDF viewer is broken right now, but there's a MSD sheet on radio shack's etchant here: http://support.tandy.com/support_supplies/doc2/2924.pdf

Garridan · Post by **Garridan** » Mon Aug 13, 2001 3:52 pm

Well, we were both wrong. Got acroread to work, and etchant turns out to be 32-45% Iron (III) Chloride, <=1% Hydrocloric Acid, and the rest is water.

Samuel · Post by **Samuel** » Mon Aug 13, 2001 3:55 pm

Garridan,

I think what PaulyP is trying to say is "getting a bit on your finger isnt going to give you deaths hand, but still wash it off well."

Easy-off Oven Cleaner is more caustic than Ferric Chloride from radio shack.

Krag · Post by **Krag** » Mon Aug 13, 2001 4:59 pm

It will stain you a slight yellow-brown. Hmmm...artificial tanning salon?

It's best if you can agitate your solution while etching. Also, sharpie pens will start to lift along the edges after about 20-30 minutes depending on the strength. Also, if you warm the solution up, it etches faster, but will eat the sharpie marks off faster as well. If you're doing fine lines, this makes a difference. Sometimes I take my piece out, clean it with MEK or acetone, then re-apply the pen marks. Enamel paint works great, though. Simply paint on your design and drop in the etchant. This will last for several hours in the solution. I etch in a small tupperware tub for small parts and place the whole tub in a bucket of warm water. This speeds up the reaction alot. This will leave a slightly "porous" look to the etched surface if done too fast. Just like acid etching, the slower the etch, the smoother the surface.

Also, if you want the design to be etched as opposed to the design being raised; spray paint the whole piece with enamel paint. Then, scratch off your design. be sure to go back with a fine art paintbrush and touch up the edges...rough edges make for rough etchings!

Almost forgot...wear gloves! Fingerprints will etch into your design!
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Krag von Berghen
KragAxe Armoury

Member's Pics

[This message has been edited by Krag (edited 08-13-2001).]

Alcyoneus · Post by **Alcyoneus** » Thu Aug 16, 2001 12:28 am

If they are secrets, why are you telling HIM? I'm filing a grievance with the etcher's onion!

PaulyP · Post by **PaulyP** » Thu Aug 16, 2001 9:01 am

I was not aware that the etcher's had an onion. What do they use it for? Is there just one onion, or does each etcher have his own? I think this is the real secret.

taltosh · Post by **taltosh** » Thu Aug 16, 2001 10:15 am

Sharpie makes an industrial strength perm marker, it'll resist the etching solution a lot better. Black fine point part#13601, I'm holding one in my hand right now.

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YMMV

Yeoman Chris
Artisan, Clerk, Man At Arms
Editor of the KnightHaven newsletter

Krag · Post by **Krag** » Thu Aug 16, 2001 2:04 pm

Way to go Chris. You gave away the secret. Now we have to hunt everyone down that has seen this thread and kill them.

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Krag von Berghen
KragAxe Armoury

Member's Pics

Alcyoneus · Post by **Alcyoneus** » Fri Aug 17, 2001 2:02 am

Hurry up and make those swords, Krag. We can test them on Chris.

taltosh · Post by **taltosh** » Fri Aug 17, 2001 9:35 am

"looks around, sees mob of armourers in the distance carying torches, pitchforks and a great big vat of etching solution"

"Arghhhh!!! *runs away into the night dropping the Silly Stick* (which incidently looks vagely like an industrial strength sharpie, fine point black part#13601)"

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YMMV

Yeoman Chris
Artisan, Clerk, Man At Arms
Editor of the KnightHaven newsletter

Sasha · Post by **Sasha** » Fri Aug 17, 2001 10:11 am

I have an etching secret to confess....

I use stencils!

And worse...I sometimes use duct tape as a resist!

You know those paper cutting stamps? You get butterflies and all that kind of crap in paper-craft shops.
Well, they also make paper cutters for doing the edges of paper...so you punch out a 2" long strip of design. And one of their patterns is celtic knotwork(ish), while another is documentably tudor.

When faced with doing really long lengths of brass trim I sometimes take a length of duct tape and stick it to paper. Then take a second length of duct tape and apply it over the first layer (so I now have a layer of duct tape stuck to a layer of duct tape which is stuck to a layer of paper). Then I use the paper punch on this until I have a pattern of however many feet I want. Then I peel the top layer of tape and apply it to the metal I am etching (clean the metal with acetone first).

I apply another layer of duct tape to the back of the metal and anywhere else I do not want etching (be careful to not get air bubbles or bad edges...this only works if the tape goes on clean).

Then throw it into the etching solution and let it rip!

It is actualy a much quicker process then it sounds and generates nice uniform repeatable patterns.

Sasha

Krag · Post by **Krag** » Fri Aug 17, 2001 3:55 pm

How clean of an edge does duct tape give you. Have you tried clear packing tape?

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Krag von Berghen
KragAxe Armoury

Member's Pics

Sasha · Post by **Sasha** » Sat Aug 18, 2001 2:16 am

I have tried a few different kinds of tape. Duct tape gives a very clean edge but, more importantly peels off without ripping even when it has all those designs perferated into it.

Packing tape will just tear to bits under those conditions and any of the spined tapes (gaffa or glass-fibre tape) allow acid to get in underneath.

Duct tape is the universal tool!

It also goes around gentle bends without loosing contact with the metal or distorting the pattern too badly.

I have also form time to time applied plain duct tape to my metal and then used a little engraving tool to cut a design outline and then peel away the bits I don't want. Sort of like using paint, I guess.

Sasha