Brass etching

[dogioio]

Hi all This has probably been discussed before but I have been unable to find any reference. What is the best masking media for small brass lables (nameplates) I seem to remember Letraset in the past. I have Ferric chloride as an etchant Your views on this will be appreciated Regards Roger

[circlip]

Gee, can you still get Letraset? Thought these electronic gizmo's had totally bu**erd the graphics trade. Another method that's favored is to use a Laserjet printer to generate a reversed print and iron the mask onto the brass.
Regards Ian

steampunkworkshop.com/electroetch.shtml

Etch yer heart out, just remembered this one.

[Lurkio]

Hi dogioio,

Here's another reference:
www.ganoksin.com/borisat/directory/library/subject/35/1

I've had a determined go at etching some name and numberplates using electro-etching and just plain etching, using heat, different times, voltage, etc. etc....

I've been trying to etch to a minimum of .020" depth, but have not been completely successful. Up to about .012" seems OK but over that the results have been inconsistent.
The detail either became 'undercut', the background was uneven, or the resist started to break down.
Some results were quite good, others terrible.
At one stage I had a fairly good product, but couldn't repeat it consistently.

I've been using the reversed laser jet method, augmenting with indelible ink, which is OK.

There's also this:
www.techniks.com/
You'll find it elsewhere too.

My latest trial with a clean 'Edinburg Etch' (see first link), stirring the mix at intervals, was promising.

Any tips from successful etchers would be most welcome...thanks in advance.

Regards,
Lurkio

[ianmac]

With the laser jet copy i imagine that you could put the same piece of paper through the printer to build up the toner thickness???

[Lurkio]

Ian,

I did try a couple of passes through the printer.....found no improvement in my own case, but it's worth a try. Needs a decent printer though, as misalignment is a problem.

Regards,
Lurkio.

[abby]

Although I haven't done any etching of brass for 2 or 3 years when I was casting sculptures and corporate giftware almost every piece required a name plate which we produced by photo etching as follows;
The art work was designed on computer and sent for image-setting to a local printer, cost - a fiver for cash - we received back an A3 negative at around 1200 DPI and you can get a lot of stuff on an A3 sheet !
The brass sheet was cleaned with scouring powder then washed and dried , it is important that the sheet is free from scratches and dust particles.
Note - you can buy engravers sheet at extra cost which has a perfect surface and is protected with plastic film. A scratch in the surface will still be there after etching.
After wiping with a tack-rag the sheet is sprayed with Electrolube photo resist or similar product and allowed to dry.
When dry the negative is positioned over the sheet and held in close contact by a sheet of clear perspex or similar , then exposed to UV light , from a light source or the sun if you have any. The exposed sheet is washed in 25 gm/litre caustic solution and the design appears as clean metal through the mask , a gentle wipe with cotton wool helps remove reluctant bits.
The etching is done in ferric chloride liquor , with the sheets flat in shallow trays.
It is VERY important to keep the liquid moving whilst etching , the liquor is used very quickly and if not cleared the cut will be un-even.
You can etch 25 thou deep in around 20 minutes , but remember when designing your art-work that the etch works on the sides of the cut as well as the bottom.
I have produced plaques in 1/8" brass with raised lettering 1/16" high in about an hour.
The pattern for this 1/4 scale loco name-plate was made by the above method, except that the art-work was a brass-rubbing of the original , scanned and reduced to size in Photoshop.

[Prowe]

Its a few years since I have done any brass etching, so memory is a bit hazy. However two things I do recall – elevate the temperature of the etch solution and suspend the work piece in the solution upside down. This allows the etched material to easily fall away, presenting fresh material for the etch solution to work on. These both speed up the process dramatically.
Sorry, I can’t remember what temperature I used, but I think it would have been somewhere in the region of 50c – 80c.

Phil