Etching

[IdahoMan]

I saw Mattblast's thread on Sticker Reproduction (very cool), and I have been wanting to try etching (think: Maker's marks, nameplates). So here is a thread for it.

Examples (metal):

Logos for blades,
tools,
PCB boards,
nameplates,
jewelry,
printmaking,
etc..

There are other material that could be etched (glass, concrete/stone, wood, plastics), and there are different methods. The pattern to be etched could be as simple as text or as complex as a photograph.

Do you do any etching, professionally or DIY?
What are your methods?
Discuss them here.

 

[IdahoMan]

I'll go first.

I have been looking up tutorials and videos to etch a pattern on steel. The process involves laser-printer toner, a way to chemically transfer it to the steel, and then use salt-water and a current source to etch the pattern electrically.

1. Making the pattern:

This is easy, go into PhotoShop/GIMP and make a symbol then adjust the ppi (See: Image Resolution And Print Quality) until the print-size is the size I want it on the metal.

2. Printing/Transfering:

Here is where I am running into trouble. Many tuts have different advice as to what kind of paper to use (slick magazine paper, photo-paper, transfer-paper, etc.), and how strong an Acetone mixture to use (straight, mixed with alcohol, fingernail-polish, etc.). And I'm sure toner type probably plays a role as well.

My attempts so far have failed. Either the the toner just smears all over, or it doesn't transfer at all or very poorly.

3. Etching:

This shouldn't be a problem. All that is needed is some wire, a current source, a q-tip and some salt-water. Will have to experiment to see how deep the etch will be each time I apply the current. (Of course if I wanted to be meticulous and proper I would determine the saltwater solution ratio, the right voltage and current, and the depth of the etch for how long each application was made)

 

[ilovevocs]

I experimented making name plates with press and peal blue and ferric chloride. Standard pcb procedure with a piece of solid copper in lieu of the pcb material.


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[Ole Slewfoot]

The sheet metal was almost new when I dropped the petals in my E-tank(H20 and washing soda) 'reversed'
Then I flipped them around to knock the rust off, and voila!
If id wanted to leave a non etched portion, I think paint wold have done the truck for a while at least.

 

[Smokeem]

I've etched glass and mirror before. We used to have to do it for Denny's restaurant. I have a decent sized vinyl cutter and just used that to cut the template out. you just apply to and use an etching cream that you can get a most craft stores. We started ordering it online to get a larger bottle as the etching we were doing was quite large. Etching the glass was fairly simple just apply the cream and wait 15-30 minutes depending on how pronounced you wanted the etching then wash it off with water. We did have a learning process as you have to make sure all the glass is covered because as you wash it off and the water runs over non covered glass it can start to etch it and make it hazy. Never had any problems doing smaller item like drinking/bar glasses but the larger panels we did.

 

[rlitman]

If you can cut a vinyl template, sand-blasting can etch much more safely than etching chemicals. And it will work on metal and stone just as well as on glass.

 

[Smokeem]

If you can cut a vinyl template, sand-blasting can etch much more safely than etching chemicals. And it will work on metal and stone just as well as on glass.

I've wanted to try this. We had talked about it when we were doing the large etching just were nervous to ruin a large piece of mirror. Some of the panel we etched were also tempered not sure what they would do it you sand blasted them. I've now got a small Harbor Freight sandblaster that got given to me but don't have a compressor really big enough to run it. I might have to borrow my brother in laws compressor and try it out on some metal. Have you done this before? Did you use any special vinyl? I know that the sign supply stores sell vinyl specifically for sandblast mask.

 

[rlitman]

Can't say that I've tried it. Really want to, but I don't have a good way of making masks.

Yeah, I'm not sure what would happen to tempered glass. I don't think I'd want to risk it there. Also, blasting something bigger than what fits in a cabinet gets messy.

There are good videos on youtube where the technique is used to etch a logo on a stainless mug and stuff like that.

As for etching cream, that stuff is dangerous enough that I don't want to be anywhere around it.

 

[IdahoMan]

Update:

No go on the toner/saltwater method. The toner is still very difficult to effectively transfer to the metal, and the saltwater current eats away at the toner.

 

[dogdog]

if you are doing metal, a nice vinyl sticker cutter might work better...

but if you are not looking for details, I have success using just packaging tape / electrical tape method....

print the letter/number I wanted on paper
lay a layer of electrical tape
tape the printed number/letter over the electrical tape with clear packaging tape
cut out the letter manually with knife...
wrap a short length of copper wire around a ice cream stick or paint stick extend the wire up so you can clamp on the dry part......
wrap a cotton pad over that with some tie... clamp on the dry part...
dip and dap.. with wet salt water solutions over the area you want to etch...

I can etch pretty deep 1/32 pretty easily, but can't get the details like that other guy with that thor hammer details on a different thread asking about the tig machine as a power supply source....


I used 24V power supply for this 12V seems to took a long time despite youtube shows 9v battery on knives...... 24V get almost instant boil (gets hot pretty fast).... *polarity matters, I just didn't remember which witch is which...just try both... or I find my old pics from March or Feb last year.

 

[Richard D]

I too have not been successful with the toner transfer. I did do some pretty good, fairly large letters cut with sign vinyl, but small detailed stuff, the vinyl peeled away at the edges. I am going to try a cheap CNC laser. Yo spray paint your metal, and cnc laser away the paint where you want the etching to occur. Afterwads, hou sand away the remaining paint. There's a few videos on Youtube.