I love etching! The ability to texture metal, to add text, to design or appropriate images and add them to your art is the coolest metal working trick I have learned to date.
There are a few sets of instructions and tutorials out there on the interwebs on etching, and most metalwork books have a few paragraphs on the subject. I'll place a set of links at the end of this tutorial.
Most of the tutorials/articles I've seen contain similar information, with variations. This post shows you the particular set of variations that has worked for me. I've read and heard a lot of "rules" for etching, especially amongst serious jewellers- heat the etchant, stroke the etching metal with a feather, build a complicated agitating device with fish tank pumps and so on. This all may be true and necessary in some settings, but I have been happy with the results I'm getting- I like the slightly imperfect look of the etched image (in this as in most things, I prefer work that was obviously made by a human).
Comments welcome- I am new to this!
Also, a disclaimer- while I use ferric chloride as an etchant, and it is less dangerous and noxious than many other corrosives and acids used in etching- it is still a potentially dangerous chemical. Work outside or in a very well ventilated space, do NOT let drops of ferric chloride stand on your stainless steel sink (ask me how I know) or get it on your skin. This is NOT an activity for kids. Metal is sharp, chemicals are dangerous, use this information at your own risk. That said...
How does it work?
When you etch metal, you allow a corrosive substance to eat away the smoothly polished surface of the metal. Any areas that are covered (resists) do not get eaten right away, and remain smooth and shiny.
The etchant doesn't do what you might expect- seeping under the resist, cutting a messy edge. Instead, it cuts straight down into the metal. If you stop the etch soon enough, you get a nice sharp delineation between etched and resisted areas.
I'll show you later some of the artefacts you get if the etch goes too long, some are really beautiful in themselves.
You will need:
- metal to etch: this method will work on copper, brass, and nickel silver (which isn't silver at all- it's a silvery base metal made from copper and nickel). It won't etch sterling silver.
- Printed circuit board etchant (PCB etchant), ferric chloride. This is available from electronics shops where they sell soldering gear and components. In Australia, I get it at Dick Smith. A bottle is about $10 AUD. It can be reused over and over so it's a reasonable expense.
- etch resist: you can buy a special PCB marking pen at the same place you buy the etchant. I wouldn't bother- mine was expensive and it doesn't work any better than the Staedler Lumocolor red (appaerently red resists the etch best) that I got for about $7 at the campus paper shop and it has 2 different gauge tips. I have read that the Staedler lumocolor red is a reliably good resist, while other markers may not be- let me know what works for you.
To do low-tech photoetching, a black and white image can be photocopied onto an acetate overhead projector sheet (make sure it's one that can go through a laser printer, or you will melt it!) and transferred to the metal.
The photocopy toner works as an excellent resist. The hardest thing about this method is getting a really etching-friendly image. Additionally, older photocopiers work best- and it must use toner, not ink. However I have learned the hard way that toner isn't toner. If you can feel a good thick layer of toner on your acetate, it may work well.
TRICK: Sometimes I set the copier to the darkest contrast, and then run the acetate through two or three times to build up a really thick toner layer. This can help considerably. I'll show you how to do this kind of transfer in detail in a bit.
Stephanie Lee in her awesome book Semiprecious Salvage talks about transferring directlty from paper to metal, using acetone- and Tim Mcreight mentions this method in his books too, but I have never, ever had any success with it. It would be so much easier than the acetate method, but I cannot get a transfer at all that way. If this works for you please let me know what I am doing wrong!
Inks and acrylic paints can also make good low tech resists. In my example etches above, most were done with archival ink and/or paint. In this tutorial, I will show you the acetate toner transfer method.
- sandpaper (fine >800 grit) or scotchbrite it's good to give the metal a rub with some slightly abrasive sandpaper or a clean under hot soapy water with scotchbrite, to avoid accidental resist from dirt on the metal. Also, you can use these to clean the toner or other resist off your metal at the end of etching.
-isopropyl alchohol (if you're using toner as your resist) I found some in a spray bottle at the computer store, when I bought etchant. It's very handy in a spray container. This helps relocate the toner from the acetate to the metal.
- an iron kids, don't use your mom's good iron for this project! (I am the mom, so it's okay, I said I could).
- plastic meat trays, cookie trays, what have you. Shallow plastic trays destined for the recycling
come in handy. Since ferric choride makes a MESS that keeps on giving if you spill it (cough), I now work with one plastic tray inside a larger one, just in case.
- running water, bicarb of soda, ammonia & a small plastic funnel you'll need these for safety, clean up and to stop the etching when you're ready.
- masking tape really this falls under the category of resist, but I'm listing it separately in case you miss it in that list. You need this to mask the back of the piece of metal you're etching.
So... gather together your bits and I'll see you back here tomorrow for part 2.
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 08:00PM 
