Comments on: Adventure in Acid Etching

By: Sally

Sally — Wed, 04 Jan 2017 17:42:22 +0000

If stamping with ink, you need to use the Staz On Ink pads and I have found them at Michaels. Only thing I have found that works well with stampings.

By: Lady Mockingbird

Lady Mockingbird — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 14:09:06 +0000

Sandra,
Actually one of the cuffs I did was a stamped pattern. I felt the ink didn’t give enough coverage so I went over some of the spots that seemed too bare with sharpie marker. I have some additional stamp patterns I want to try as well. So though I’m still planning on moving to electro etching once I can get a good set-up I’m going to use the rest of my brass and some more copper and try to use up all of my muriatic acid so it doesn’t go to waste.

Rena, thanks much for your marvelous response. Though I’ve been super productive the last few months, I haven’t submitted anything here for a long while. Not for lack of wanting, but more for lack of time.

Karin, do try it. There’s a learning curve but it opens up a world of design opportunities particularly for those of us without a rolling mill.
Lady M

By: Rena Klingenberg

Rena Klingenberg — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 06:26:07 +0000

Diana, thanks so much for taking us along on your journey into acid etching, and sharing what worked and what didn’t. I especially like your last photo, with the gorgeous finished copper & brass pieces. I agree, the first word in “acid etching” makes many people shy away, and I like your emphasis on safety during the process. Love how you’re rocking your new jewelry direction!

Also thanks to Sandra Doss (above) for sharing her great additional tips!

By: Sandra Doss

Sandra Doss — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 01:19:18 +0000

Beautiful work! I use muriatic acid and hydrogen peroxide as well. Have you found that you get a deeper etch if your solution and/or pieces are warm or hot even? Now that it is so hot outside I am finding that my etch is much deeper if I leave the pieces on my deck with the sun beating on them. Another tip I found helpful was to check my pieces with a toothpick to see how deep they really are. It can be very deceiving otherwise and I have been very frustrated with different levels of etch as a result. I have been using my silhouette cameo machine to cut vinyl to use as my resist and for the most part that works great, but it is time consuming if you have a detailed piece like the ones you have shown us. I also have used stamps and found that copper and brass will etch nicely with stamps, but Steel and Nickel Silver do not work! Thank you for sharing your work!!!

By: Karin

Karin — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 22:09:20 +0000

Thank you for sharing your experiences! I am just on the verge of trying my hand at etching! Beautiful pieces!