Etch resist for aluminum?

[therecordingart]

but if you cover the sticky residue with mayonaisse and leave for half hour it comes off  easily,...(starnge but true)...

I have to ask........how did you find that out?  Eating a sandwich while etching? lol

yeah sort of!....lol...no i saw it on a crappy house cleaning tips prog on tv!..works tho..i hate having to peel off sticky labels
that leave crap behind..ha ha..

Is it the concentration of vinegar in mayonaisse that does it?

[differo]

Slade, can you reveal the mystery with your paper: do you print on the glossy or dull side? is there paper covering toner in your tutorial? (multicolor etching)? It appears to me from your images that, when you peel off the paper, some thin layer of paper is left on the enclosure covering the toner? How long do you wait (after applying nail enamel and toner) until you dip it in fecl? and finally, do you warm your fecl or you just dip enclosure in some tray (perhaps placed on table..)?
Thanks for your great tutorial, that is the etc-bible! (together with markm's!)

[therecordingart]

Kinda off topic....anyone do an electrolysis etch yet? I've built an etching power supply that can switch between DC and AC so you can engrave the metal, and then blacken the engraving, but I haven't tried it on an enclosure yet. I've messed with eating copper clad to make sure it worked.

[differo]

Kinda off topic....anyone do an electrolysis etch yet? I've built an etching power supply that can switch between DC and AC so you can engrave the metal, and then blacken the engraving, but I haven't tried it on an enclosure yet. I've messed with eating copper clad to make sure it worked.

I did (and some others) worked quite good on metal sheet (steel?) quite deep etch too, but no go on aluminum (for me at least..). Still have my 'etch-tool' to experiment some more when I find time.

[Skruffyhound]

Again O.T., but has anyone tried the Eco etch of copper sulphate/table salt and water? My results have been sketchy so far but that's mainly because I'm trying to use it with a UV/photoresist system and I think it is getting too hot for the resist. It definitely eats aluminium and you can also increase the effect by passing a current through it if you think it's necessary. Renewable too and much less toxic than the alternatives.

[Hides-His-Eyes]

Again O.T., but has anyone tried the Eco etch of copper sulphate/table salt and water? My results have been sketchy so far but that's mainly because I'm trying to use it with a UV/photoresist system and I think it is getting too hot for the resist. It definitely eats aluminium and you can also increase the effect by passing a current through it if you think it's necessary. Renewable too and much less toxic than the alternatives.

very interesting. So I could hook up say a 9V battery between an electrode and the case, and etch away a design like that on the aluminium? What kind of timescale are we talking?

[Hides-His-Eyes]

http://www.nontoxicprint.com/etchzincsteelaluminum.htm

very interesting. copper sulphate isn't expensive, I just wouldn't like to go through the whole 'press n peel" nonsense for the etch resist. Maybe i could make simple designs using masking tape or similar? Cover the back and cut out with a stanley knife (it'd scratch but then it'd be etched where it was scratched and wouldn't be noticeable, maybe?)

[therecordingart]

Sorry to remain off topic, but copper sulfate? What about chelated copper sulfate? If that works you can buy the stuff at your local pet store or aquarium place...it's used in fish tanks.

[StereoKills]

Again O.T., but has anyone tried the Eco etch of copper sulphate/table salt and water? My results have been sketchy so far but that's mainly because I'm trying to use it with a UV/photoresist system and I think it is getting too hot for the resist. It definitely eats aluminium and you can also increase the effect by passing a current through it if you think it's necessary. Renewable too and much less toxic than the alternatives.

very interesting. So I could hook up say a 9V battery between an electrode and the case, and etch away a design like that on the aluminium? What kind of timescale are we talking?

12v should do it with a large current rating. Method I've seen for brass was 12v, 17A in a solution of root kill. Should be possible in a solution of salt water as well.

[Slade]

Slade, can you reveal the mystery with your paper: do you print on the glossy or dull side? is there paper covering toner in your tutorial? (multicolor etching)? It appears to me from your images that, when you peel off the paper, some thin layer of paper is left on the enclosure covering the toner? How long do you wait (after applying nail enamel and toner) until you dip it in fecl? and finally, do you warm your fecl or you just dip enclosure in some tray (perhaps placed on table..)?
Thanks for your great tutorial, that is the etc-bible! (together with markm's!)

You should read the tutorial again

do you print on the glossy or dull side?
Always on the glossy side.

is there paper covering toner in your tutorial? (multicolor etching)? It appears to me from your images that, when you peel off the paper, some thin layer of paper is left on the enclosure covering the toner?
Yes, it's there. When I peel off the paper there is some sticked paper over the toner, that's an important key for the process...

How long do you wait (after applying nail enamel and toner) until you dip it in fecl?
Approximately 10 minutes, it depends on the time that the nail enamel needs to get dry.

and finally, do you warm your fecl or you just dip enclosure in some tray (perhaps placed on table..)?
No, I don't warm it, I do it exactly like in the tutorial pics.

Greetings

[StereoKills]

is there paper covering toner in your tutorial? (multicolor etching)? It appears to me from your images that, when you peel off the paper, some thin layer of paper is left on the enclosure covering the toner?
Yes, it's there. When I peel off the paper there is some sticked paper over the toner, that's an important key for the process...

I used PNP Blue on the enclosure I etched and was a bit disappointing at how much FeCl got through the toner. The layer of paper must make quite a difference in how much it resists the acid.

[differo]

Slade, can you reveal the mystery with your paper: do you print on the glossy or dull side? is there paper covering toner in your tutorial? (multicolor etching)? It appears to me from your images that, when you peel off the paper, some thin layer of paper is left on the enclosure covering the toner? How long do you wait (after applying nail enamel and toner) until you dip it in fecl? and finally, do you warm your fecl or you just dip enclosure in some tray (perhaps placed on table..)?
Thanks for your great tutorial, that is the etc-bible! (together with markm's!)

You should read the tutorial again

do you print on the glossy or dull side?
Always on the glossy side.

is there paper covering toner in your tutorial? (multicolor etching)? It appears to me from your images that, when you peel off the paper, some thin layer of paper is left on the enclosure covering the toner?
Yes, it's there. When I peel off the paper there is some sticked paper over the toner, that's an important key for the process...

How long do you wait (after applying nail enamel and toner) until you dip it in fecl?
Approximately 10 minutes, it depends on the time that the nail enamel needs to get dry.

and finally, do you warm your fecl or you just dip enclosure in some tray (perhaps placed on table..)?
No, I don't warm it, I do it exactly like in the tutorial pics.

Greetings

Thanks man, simple explanations worth a while!
Will try again, somehow I want to believe that the key is in the paper/transfer.

[Skruffyhound]

Sorry again for offtopicness.
The copper sulphate/salt mix generates it's own kind of charge as I understand it, literally stripping off a molecule at a time, so it may not be necessary to send any current through it. Best results when mildly warm. Wear a dust mask when mixing the solution. Other products may work but who knows what else they contain in addition to Copper Sulphate. Masking tape is an effective resist, acrylic paint is another more flexible solution. I am working on silk screening acrylic on as a resist. The chemical reaction releases Hydrogen I believe, but it is not considered dangerous. Hide-His-Eyes's link above is one of the best sites I found.