Etched enclosures

[Arcane Analog]

[TG Flatline]

^ Sweet! Nice one dude! ^

[deadastronaut]

@arcane : love the top one best, but all very cool..

@hex:   try sanding with 180 grit paper...then ironing..

then use finer paper...

[guitarmageddon]

Mini Si/Ge Fuzz Face, PNP with voltage inverter.





Shoot the Moon Trem, switch for square/sine wave.

[poppyman]

Ok, this is million miles away from the superb slick and detailed work of the lastest posts but I wanted to give  a go to an alternative technique.

I can get pretty frustrated with p'n'p blue transfers so I wanted to try a basic spray paint stencil + etch finish.
It's a bit random and kinda "blurry" but I kinda like the "rusty garden table" look.

Valvecaster (with input cap switch and faux-glow trick) and Red Llama.

[Pettol]

Nice!

[Hexjibber]

@hex:   try sanding with 180 grit paper...then ironing..

then use finer paper...

Thanks man, I'll give that a go, I've also got some glossy photo paper which I'm going to try so I can follow Slade's tutorial a bit closer, will post results if I succeed!

[deadastronaut]

^ cool,  with glossy paper, peel it off when its just cooling down...most of the time it will come off in one piece and leave no fibres/residue...

nail varnish any missing spots, look under a lamp for any shiny bits.....

[Hexjibber]

^ cool,  with glossy paper, peel it off when its just cooling down...most of the time it will come off in one piece and leave no fibres/residue...

nail varnish any missing spots, look under a lamp for any shiny bits.....

Nice one, will do!

[TG Flatline]

Love these! Really like the colours and the etch on the side.

[Mustachio]

Wow! Some beautiful etches!

I need to ask , earlier I read you guys said you where using Sodium Hydroxide. I believe thats the main chemical in MG chemicals Positive developer. I have some of that left from when I was etching using the photo method. Think I can use it to etch a box ? Gonna give it a try soon unless  you guys know why I shouldn't.

So about a year or more ago I built a big muff on vero, the creamy dreamer version. It's pretty cool but just something I wouldn't use often cause its so thick and heavy. When I first built it I finished it with waterslide decals on bare aluminum that was sanded and sprayed with a can of cheap clear coat. It fogged up pretty bad after a few weeks. And Its just sat there unused ever since.

So I decided to redo the box last week and sanded and buffed it all down and just tried my first etch!

I used laser printer for the mask and some FeCl to etch. I just dabbed on with a q-tip and cleaned re-applied off and on for a few hours. here's what I got.












Sanded down the high bright blue led, Now it doesn't make me see purple dots while I play !

I put it up on ebay cause I need to fund some other pedals. But was really fun as my first etch!

[deadastronaut]

looks cool jim...good idea on the led..ive done that a few times too...saves the retina's...

[Hexjibber]

Hi chaps,

Just thought I would share my results using Sodium Hydroxide/Caustic Soda/NaOH as some of you were interested. I used this stuff: http://www.brandrefill.co.uk/homecare-caustic-soda-500g-500g/

Managed to get a successful mask using glossy photo paper, thanks to Dead Astronaut and Slade for the tips! I began using an approx. 20% solution which I pipetted on and rinsed off after 5 mins, I did this 7 or 8 times increasing the solution each time until it was about 40%, not sure if increasing the strength was actually necessary but was just experimenting really.

The test etch I did on the rear panel seemed to come out cleaner, I suspect this was mainly due to the fact I spent more time sanding it than I did with the top of the enclosure. Also I slightly smudged the mask during the transfer process on the top, fortunately though this actually turned out ok as I think the design looks cool with a slightly gnarled look to it! The design is from my favourite film, Dead Man's Shoes. Next I plan to paint the etch black, sand, then spray the enclosure with translucent red paint. Should I clear coat afterwards do you think?

Meanwhile;

[ch1naski]

Pipette....never heard of that.
Is it one of these?

[Hexjibber]

Pipette....never heard of that.
Is it one of these?

It's one of these;

[deadastronaut]

@hex: came out cool....looks great. 

[Hexjibber]

@hex: came out cool....looks great. 

Cheers man! I'm pretty pleased with it for a first go, will post another pic once I've finished it. I'm just about to start my second etch, the design is a lot more intricate though, hopefully it will work!

[ch1naski]

So...how does one apply etchant using the pipette method?

[Pettol]

Just apply droplets on the area you want to etch. The surface tension will keep them in place. Sort of.

[Hexjibber]

Just apply droplets on the area you want to etch. The surface tension will keep them in place. Sort of.

+1