[Tutorial] Making a Multicolor Etching!

[tasos]

cool, it worked though eh!!!...looks good to me!!!!...

now if we were all sign writers we could do some fantastic etches using paint...

you've got to find someone with a laser printer man!....in fact they aren't really that expensive, i bought mine new with the toner for £50.00

i got sick of having to wait till my secretary(wife) came home from work with my prints... ..its reall handy for knocking up a pcb etc...

Totally true!
However i print at photocopy shops
Can't wait to get a laser printer!

[Vallhagen]

Hi folks:) My first post on this forum, i have been lurkin' around a few month' though. I got this thread recommended from a user on Madbeans diy-place. This thread and its author Slade is absolutely brilliant.

Anyway, i just finished the etching part of my first etched box, all guided by Slades tutorial. And i like to share a few pics of the work, as well as one disastrous mistake i must have made on the way. Here we go:

After a few tries with different papers and minutes with the iron, i ended up ironing about 20 minutes, and a photo paper from the local bookstore (pretty much the same as Slade recommends, i think. 200 gsm). Then toner transferred well, and i could put it in the etching bath. I have never etched anything before, so i basically read around internet on what fluid to use. I think (?) most of you guys use Iron tri-Chloride (correct spelled? not sure of the english term, im a swede), so i looked all over for it, but couldnt find a place near to buy it. I ended up using "Kaustik Soda" (again, spelling. Its NaOH, everyone here has a bottle of it in the cleaning cupboard), and the etching part went really well for a first try:). I had the box in the bath for four minutes, then i masked the small letters and let it etch for two more minutes:



Then painting and drilling. At this point i am perfectly happy with the result (even though i DO have some problem centerring the drilling holes. I use a handheld drill, and simply cant do it better..).



Then... disaster! I decided to clearcoat the thing (is that a beginners mistake? or... do you guys do or dont do it etched enclosures? So far i have clearcoated everything i have boxed) and i dont know what happened... The black color "rise" in the clearcoat and pretty much destroys the whole artwork completely. I dont know why. Maybe residue (black color or aluminum particles?) from the sandpapering? Or maybe i clearcoated it too fast, and it had water/alcohol rests in the etched parts? Im not sure. If any of you guys have a hint about how to avoid this happening again, im a happy reader for sure. Til then, i wont clearcoat my etchings;) Anyway, heres the pic: 



... so i had to get back to sandpaper it all over. I tried to be very careful, and hope to keep the most of the black color. The result is not exactly as good as it was before my blunder though. Result:



***

Well... i guess i will come back with some more pic when i have filled the box interior. It will look more "complete" then.

Cheers
/Bengt
Sweden

[G. Hoffman]

Hi folks:) My first post on this forum, i have been lurkin' around a few month' though. I got this thread recommended from a user on Madbeans diy-place. This thread and its author Slade is absolutely brilliant.

Anyway, i just finished the etching part of my first etched box, all guided by Slades tutorial. And i like to share a few pics of the work, as well as one disastrous mistake i must have made on the way. Here we go:

After a few tries with different papers and minutes with the iron, i ended up ironing about 20 minutes, and a photo paper from the local bookstore (pretty much the same as Slade recommends, i think. 200 gsm). Then toner transferred well, and i could put it in the etching bath. I have never etched anything before, so i basically read around internet on what fluid to use. I think (?) most of you guys use Iron tri-Chloride (correct spelled? not sure of the english term, im a swede), so i looked all over for it, but couldnt find a place near to buy it. I ended up using "Kaustik Soda" (again, spelling. Its NaOH, everyone here has a bottle of it in the cleaning cupboard), and the etching part went really well for a first try:). I had the box in the bath for four minutes, then i masked the small letters and let it etch for two more minutes:


Then painting and drilling. At this point i am perfectly happy with the result (even though i DO have some problem centerring the drilling holes. I use a handheld drill, and simply cant do it better..).


Then... disaster! I decided to clearcoat the thing (is that a beginners mistake? or... do you guys do or dont do it etched enclosures? So far i have clearcoated everything i have boxed) and i dont know what happened... The black color "rise" in the clearcoat and pretty much destroys the whole artwork completely. I dont know why. Maybe residue (black color or aluminum particles?) from the sandpapering? Or maybe i clearcoated it too fast, and it had water/alcohol rests in the etched parts? Im not sure. If any of you guys have a hint about how to avoid this happening again, im a happy reader for sure. Til then, i wont clearcoat my etchings;) Anyway, heres the pic: 


... so i had to get back to sandpaper it all over. I tried to be very careful, and hope to keep the most of the black color. The result is not exactly as good as it was before my blunder though. Result:


Well... i guess i will come back with some more pic when i have filled the box interior. It will look more "complete" then.

Cheers
/Bengt
Sweden

Any time you use a clear coat over an undercoat which use the same solvent, you risk some bleed.  For me, working on guitars and other wood, the easiest solution is usually to spray a coat of super blond shellac, which sticks to everything, and will usually keep the bleed from happening.  (Bleed isn't always a bad thing, though.  We use it deliberately on sunbursts, as it softens and evens out the fade.)  The other thing that will cause problems is spraying your topcoat too soon.  The base layer needs to be completely dry.


Gabriel

[Vallhagen]

"Any time you use a clear coat over an undercoat which use the same solvent, you risk some bleed" ...


Thank you Gabriel.

They say you learn something every day, this day i learnt from You:)

Cheers
Bengt

[Joe]

that looks awesome

[Vallhagen]

...and to round off my participation in this thread (at least so far); here's a pic of the final box. It's the MadBean Chunk Chunk (known around here as dr Boogey, right?)

Cheers, and sorry for mediocre photo quality:)

[Slade]

First etch?
Wow, I should start selling this tutorial...



Congrats, and glad you liked the tutorial!

[Vallhagen]

First etch?
Wow, I should start selling this tutorial...



Congrats, and glad you liked the tutorial!

Hey, is this a compliment from Theee mr Slade Himself?!! ... Thanx.

And i am perfectly honest; I have read through more than one and two instructions / manuals / tutorials on different topics over the years, and your tutorial is by all means brilliant. Really.

If i could wish for one thing, it would be that you somewhere in the text tell what etchant you use (maybe as a chemical formula too, it can cause misunderstandings to translate chemistry terminology). I had to do some research to choose etchant, though that sub-subject is partly covered in this thread.

Cheers! Keep up the good work!

[Roger Martin]

Hi all,
I have questions, maybe you guys can explain it to me...

1. When you print the monochrome design to high glossy photo paper 180grm/m2,
    should i erase those white areas empty in the design or just let it be white
    and it will be separated by itself from the black areas when the photo paper is peeled after 13 minutes of ironing ?
2. What if i use food acid + salt + 9 volt DC current to etch ?

The first question is important for me. Many thanks.

[deadastronaut]

hi roger,

white areas are the areas to be etched, ...(where the ferric chloride eats into.) bear this in mind with your design. , you cannot print white, and remember to reverse the image  too. 

never tried salt etc...

i would stick with ferric chloride.

use nail varnish on parts you don't want etched...border etc..

[Roger Martin]

hi roger,

white areas are the areas to be etched, ...(where the ferric chloride eats into.) bear this in mind with your design. , you cannot print white, and remember to reverse the image  too. 

never tried salt etc...

i would stick with ferric chloride.

use nail varnish on parts you don't want etched...border etc..

Hi Rob,
Superb answers for a newbie like me 
You gave a nice conclusion idea of what to do.
I thought this was going to get quite a long time before somebody answers this, but you are quick.
Thank you Rob 

[deadastronaut]

your very welcome...

[sdlogan9]

This is good Sh*t!!

[lmorse]

I have just successfully 'toner-transferred' my first ever design to my enclosure this morning (took several attempts, ended up leaving it under the iron for 23 minutes before I could get it to stick reasonably well, first attempt at 10 minutes was awful, second attempt at 15 minutes wasn't much better). Now I am happy with the result, and all masked and taped.

I thought I had better have a re-read of this thread before attempting to etch, and am glad I did; I noticed that Ammonium Persulphate does not work on die cast enclosures.

I have spent all day trying to track down ferric chloride on the Gold Coast, Australia without much luck. Is there another chemical that will do the job?

[duck_arse]

lmorse, altronics has ferric listed as "H0800" for 12.95$. "Prime Electronics, 11 Warehouse Rd, gold coast" is listed as a distributer. try them.

failing that, get yourself down here to sydney and I'll give you a bucket full. I'm not using it.

[lmorse]

Cool, thanks Duck. Will check them out.
No Sydney trips in the near future I'm afraid. 

[duck_arse]

if you get really stuck, shoot me a pm, I'll see what we can do.