Dave, I just bought some feric cloride. I tried to use a
sharpie marker as the resist, and the bath ate away my desighn.
It was only a test so it is no great loss, but what did I do
wrong. Also, I usualy use asphaltum in a nitric bath. I like
my pices to have a farly deep etch, will the feric cloride
produce an ethch that is a few mm deep?
I did quite a lot of Ferric Chloride etching on brass and copper
a few years ago. Sharpies will not give as good a resist as
other methods, but they do leave you with an irregular surface
that can be worked into the design. One thing about Sharpies,
You can NOT go over a line. If you try to redraw, you will
eliminate more of the old line than put down a new one. The
method I finally ended up using is:
Go to an art store and get a sheet of Frisket Paper. It's used
by artists and signmakers. Draw your design on the Frisket and
apply the frisket to the metal. Then cut out your design with an
Xacto knife and use Spray paint (Blackworks best) as a resist.
When the paint is dry (30 min or so) peel the paper off and the
resist (Paint) is on the metal. I spray painted the back too
before doing the front.
As for cleaning, I first put the metal in piclke then wash and
wipe with denatured alcohol followed by a wash and final wipe
with acetone to remove any water left on. 15 min under a
lightbulb or in a sunny window will give you a nice clean
surface.
This is simplified, if anyone wants more detailes post on the
list or e-mail off list with the word etching in the subject
Be nice to your kids. They'll choose your nursing home.
Bobert
