What am I doing wrong with the PNP Blue transfer?

[Rob Strand]

I'll try Zappa sanding after my next attempt.   

Try to think good thoughts.

[deadastronaut]

yes it has to be flat....

the enclosures we use look flat, but they aren't.

they have high and low spots, i use a coarse grit 180 to get flat....

then once etched i use a finer grit like 600 to remove the toner/dead metal....

however, recently i have taken to using wire wool straight after etching to really get that dead metal out of the etched areas only..

then sand with finer grit 600...to get off toner...(.i dont go mad though as it will get another sanding.)

then i paint the surface with matt black, let dry....

then final sand with the same piece of worn 600....

drill n build. 

[duck_arse]

an A4 sized lump of plate glass, nice and thick [5 or 6 mm - front window from a microwave oven door ?], a spray of water on the surface, slap down your wet-or-dry, and sand, keeping the paper wet. the glass should be flat enough, the water should hold the paper enough. don't drop the pane of glass.

[davent]

I guess the next question after getting a flat enclosure is how flat's your iron or heat pad, does it warp bulge when heated up?

Toner still the same branded one from when you were having success? Maybe that's already been stated.
dave

[Marcos - Munky]

Tomorrow I'll try this: https://www.instructables.com/Heatless-cold-Toner-Transfer-for-PCB-Making/

I do a different cold tone tranfer. I print the layout on glossy/photo paper (never got it to work with magazine paper), then using a sharp tip (like from a small flat screwdriver) I scratch the back of the paper, so the acethone can easily soak the paper. For acethone, I just use nail polish remover. I clean the board with a steel wool, water and a paper towel with just a bit of alcohol/acethone, place the layout on the board and drop some acethone on the back of the paper, from the middle to the boarders, being careful to not let acethone go between the paper and the board (the very opposite of this other method). Using my fingers, I spread the acethone all around the paper and apply pressure at the same time. Let it dry, apply acethone/pressure again, let it dry, dip in water, remove the paper. Works good for boards, not so good for enclosures, and for unknown reasons it seems to works better on a "old printed" (like from 4-5 days ago) layout than a fresh printed one.

After failing to iron transfer the toner to a enclosure, I gave this other method a go. Enclosure was not sanded, I just did the usual steel wool + water + acethone/alcool cleaning. Used a fresh printed layout on glossy paper. Since nail polish removers aren't 90%+ pure acethone, I just used it as is, without mixing it with alcohol. Dropped a few on the enclosure's surface, put the paper, applied pressure, waited a bit, etched. This is the result I got, on the very first attempt:


You can see lots of small spots that weren't supposed to be etched, but I blame the poor quality toner I used. I got similar results on the last enclosures I etched using this same toner and iron transfer.

[KarenColumbo]

Sorry, lost my way inside the recycling dumpster lol. Did another iron-on, worked out fine BUT I forgot to invert it in photoshop. So I just sprayed it with clear paint and called it a day. Etching without etching ... real time saver.

[KarenColumbo]

Tomorrow I'll try this: https://www.instructables.com/Heatless-cold-Toner-Transfer-for-PCB-Making/

I do a different cold tone tranfer. I print the layout on glossy/photo paper (never got it to work with magazine paper), then using a sharp tip (like from a small flat screwdriver) I scratch the back of the paper, so the acethone can easily soak the paper. For acethone, I just use nail polish remover. I clean the board with a steel wool, water and a paper towel with just a bit of alcohol/acethone, place the layout on the board and drop some acethone on the back of the paper, from the middle to the boarders, being careful to not let acethone go between the paper and the board (the very opposite of this other method). Using my fingers, I spread the acethone all around the paper and apply pressure at the same time. Let it dry, apply acethone/pressure again, let it dry, dip in water, remove the paper. Works good for boards, not so good for enclosures, and for unknown reasons it seems to works better on a "old printed" (like from 4-5 days ago) layout than a fresh printed one.

After failing to iron transfer the toner to a enclosure, I gave this other method a go. Enclosure was not sanded, I just did the usual steel wool + water + acethone/alcool cleaning. Used a fresh printed layout on glossy paper. Since nail polish removers aren't 90%+ pure acethone, I just used it as is, without mixing it with alcohol. Dropped a few on the enclosure's surface, put the paper, applied pressure, waited a bit, etched. This is the result I got, on the very first attempt:


You can see lots of small spots that weren't supposed to be etched, but I blame the poor quality toner I used. I got similar results on the last enclosures I etched using this same toner and iron transfer.

Hey! Not too shabby. I will try this method, too. Thx for sharing!

[KarenColumbo]

yes it has to be flat....

the enclosures we use look flat, but they aren't.

they have high and low spots, i use a coarse grit 180 to get flat....

then once etched i use a finer grit like 600 to remove the toner/dead metal....

however, recently i have taken to using wire wool straight after etching to really get that dead metal out of the etched areas only..

then sand with finer grit 600...to get off toner...(.i dont go mad though as it will get another sanding.)

then i paint the surface with matt black, let dry....

then final sand with the same piece of worn 600....

drill n build. 

Sounds like a LOT of work!

[deadastronaut]

it is, but the results are worth it.

its ALL in the prep...

[davent]

it is, but the results are worth it.

its ALL in the prep...

True of ANY type of finishing, it all comes down to, back to the prep.
dave