Acid etching

[wayne1967]

Morning. I was reading Bill Newton's book and the process of covering a lock plate with wax, cutting out lettering and then acid etching it in. Does anyone have picture examples of the finished piece? Thanks

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Acid etching can work pretty well but don't expect it to look like engraving. The bottoms of the etched recesses will be textured from the acid and not smooth like cut metal.

dave

 

[Greg Y]

Not acid, but I have done a good bit of saltwater etching.

 

[andy52]

I've done it on glass but not metal.

 

[LRB]

Morning. I was reading Bill Newton's book and the process of covering a lock plate with wax, cutting out lettering and then acid etching it in. Does anyone have picture examples of the finished piece? Thanks

If you use some sort of a jig you can make pretty decent letters. The engraving machines trophy makers use work very well, but they are not cheap. Plain ole wax is not what is needed. There are formulas for making "ground" involving asphaltum, pitch, and a solvent, it cannot be too thick, and it cannot be too thin, if you want neat letters. Use a carbide tipped mechanics scribe to draw your letters. Requires a steady hand if you have no jig. 70% nitric acid is what you need but is not always easy to find. You might also look into electric etching. A lot of knifemakers use that but much of it looks shallow to me. I marked all my knives with the nitric acid. Took me about 30 minutes to get the depth I wanted. After you have applied the ground and drawn your letters, you make a dam around your lettering out modeling clay and put a generous cover of acid in it. You constantly have to break the bubbles the acid makes with a soft artist brush. After 25/30 minutes you wash the acid away or save it in a separate container. USE EYE PROTECTION! I never had a problem, but it can happen.

 

[longcruise]

What acid would be used to etched?

EDIT: LRB answered my question while I was typing.

 

[LRB]

What acid would be used to etch?

70% nitric for common steel.

 

[wayne1967]

If you use some sort of a jig you can make pretty decent letters. The engraving machines trophy makers use work very well, but they are not cheap. Plain ole wax is not what is needed. There are formulas for making "ground" involving asphaltum, pitch, and a solvent, it cannot be too thick, and it cannot be too thin, if you want neat letters. Use a carbide tipped mechanics scribe to draw your letters. Requires a steady hand if you have no jig. 70% nitric acid is what you need but is not always easy to find. You might also look into electric etching. A lot of knifemakers use that but much of it looks shallow to me. I marked all my knives with the nitric acid. Took me about 30 minutes to get the depth I wanted. After you have applied the ground and drawn your letters, you make a dam around your lettering out modeling clay and put a generous cover of acid in it. You constantly have to break the bubbles the acid makes with a soft artist brush. After 25/30 minutes you wash the acid away or save it in a separate container. USE EYE PROTECTION! I never had a problem, but it can happen.

yeah in the book it says beeswax mixed with a certain amount of asphalt.

 

[LRB]

Sheffield Knife Makers Supply used to sell the ingredients and give the recipe, but they have shut down. I have the recipe in my shop, but I sold my house and shop. I do have to go back and get a bunch of stuff out though. If you want, I will try to find that recipe. It worked very well. James Levi used it also on his blades.

 

[wayne1967]

Sheffield Knife Makers Supply used to sell the ingredients and give the recipe, but they have shut down. I have the recipe in my shop, but I sold my house and shop. I do have to go back and get a bunch of stuff out though. If you want, I will try to find that recipe. It worked very well. James Levi used it also on his blades.

Yeah if it isn't any trouble. Thanks I've done logos on blades that have the black Teflon type coating with the solution from radio shack. I think it's ferric chloride. Used Jasco to remove the coating afterwards. I've just never applied a coating myself. Didn't want it to leach under it and make a mess with the letters.