Etching tools?

[philbinator1]

Hey guys, I'm looking to get into etching but don't really know what to get.  I only know that the main chemical that's used in
america is different than the one that's readily available here...i think we have Ammonium Persulphate mostly here, but that's
all i know.   

Maybe someone could be kind enough to provide me with a list of tools/chemicals i'll need to get etching?  cos i'm itching to
get etching <groan/facepalm>.       

[glops]

I just did my first etch the other day using ferric chloride that I bought from radio shack.  I printed a logo with a laser printer on press and peel blue, ironed it to the aluminum, peeled off the press and peel and used a sharpie for the places that looked like the toner didn't stick to.  Then I taped a napkin around another sharpie and dipped into the acid and coated the aluminum in the places I wanted etched.  I think I did it 3 times for around 15 minutes.  Wish I would have done it longer as the etching wasn't too deep but I did it in a rush.  After I was done with etching I spray painted with black and then sanded off the top.  Then a clear coat of gloss that's used for aluminum hub caps or so.

Here's a crappy iphone shot:



I don't think the sharpie worked to well as I did get a few leaks.  Next time I'd use some black paint and a small brush to fix that problem.  Overall, I am really happy with the result since it was the first time and it worked.  I did the logo in photoshop with a paint bush tool.  Simple for a first test.  I thought the process would be a lot harder but it's not.  Still miles away from Slade's work...

[shadowmaster]

I just went into this route lately.

Hydrochloric Acid + Hydrogen Peroxide

You can buy both chemicals at generous amounts at cheap prices and etch all the PCB's you need for this hobby in your entire lifetime. 

[glops]

Post back your results shadowmaster.  I would like to try the Hydrochloric Acid + Hydrogen Peroxide mix but was anxious and went with the ferric chloride because it was easier.

For the OP, since my etching traces didn't burn that deep I found that using a sanding block with 800 grit wet sand paper produced the best results.  From the pic I posted, the image is a nice square shape.  After etching, I sprayed the black and tried to cover most of the aluminum with masking tape, at least around the edges.   The middle aluminum that wasn't etched got covered with the paint, as well, so I used the 800 grit and a block to get the aluminum that wasn't etched back to it's shiny self.   Using a coarser grit (I think I use 320 at first) started to cut into the painted etched areas but the 800 worked great.  If I had etched deeper, a coarser grit would have been fine, I suppose.

Post your results.  My experiments with full faced decal paper were way less successful. 

[darron]

i use an epilog mini 18 for the mask and cutting

then the hydrogen peroxide and hydrochloric acid in an etch developer with heater and bubbles to adgitate and oxygenate. then tinning crystals to in it, then drill.


for aluminium enclosures i'd recommend ferric chloride though. use an enamel flat black paint for any touchups on the mask.