Mike HF is very bad news I would not use it under any
circumstances because your life is worth more than any etching
process.
In industrial laboritories they will not work with HF unless
there is absolutly no other option.
If they do work with HF they use about 3 pairs of gloves and
have a doctor or first-aider standing by with an injection of an
antidote to HF. This is because HF is absorbed through the skin
and attacks the bodies bones. In chemical plants that use
concentrated forms of HF as catalysts full space suits are used
to protect all operatives that are ouside the control room.
In the early days it was a standing comment, when they found a
dead chemist, that he had discovered Flourine.
If all of the above appears alarmist I assure you that I have an
understanding of the dangers of HF since I am a Chemical
Engineer by profession.
Thanks
Paul Nicholson
Thanks