Question about Saltwater etching materials

[ARKM]

That's a very deep etch. With that deep of an etch, you risk etching occurring underneath the resist or having the resist itself (or the resist's adhesive), degrading/not holding up. This can be mitigated by less voltage and less etching time as well as using less salt. In fact my tutorial is probably too aggressive during the etching process (for aluminum anyways). I need to try using less voltage and/or less salt, even when using vinyl stickers as the resist. However this may mean having to increase the etching time. It's all a trade off.

In my saltwater etching tutorial (stencil method), the sticker is just a template for paint. After painting, I remove the sticker before doing any etching.

Electrical tape can be a good resist but if you're going to cut out designs in the tape, you will get better results using clear packaging tape instead as it is less flexible. I have not tried this myself but I've seen others do it on saber parts with great results. I hope that helps.

[poconosjon@aol.com]

That's a very deep etch. With that deep of an etch, you risk etching occurring underneath the resist or having the resist itself (or the resist's adhesive), degrading/not holding up. This can be mitigated by less voltage and less etching time as well as using less salt. In fact my tutorial is probably too aggressive during the etching process (for aluminum anyways). I need to try using less voltage and/or less salt, even when using vinyl stickers as the resist. However this may mean having to increase the etching time. It's all a trade off.

In my saltwater etching tutorial (stencil method), the sticker is just a template for paint. After painting, I remove the sticker before doing any etching.

Electrical tape can be a good resist but if you're going to cut out designs in the tape, you will get better results using clear packaging tape instead as it is less flexible. I have not tried this myself but I've seen others do it on saber parts with great results. I hope that helps.

I will definitely try the packing tape, also I ordered vinyl stickers and I am going to try those as well. Also next time I am going to try 10 or 15 minutes instead of 30... 1 queston for you, is it Voltage or Amperage or both that determines the speed that the etching works? I measured 4.6V at 4.93A when doing this...

[jbkuma]

For some of my more detailed etching I've made a vinyl stencil to make a spray paint resist. It will depend on the design, but in some cases it will be easier to get a good result that way.

[ARKM]

I will definitely try the packing tape, also I ordered vinyl stickers and I am going to try those as well. Also next time I am going to try 10 or 15 minutes instead of 30... 1 queston for you, is it Voltage or Amperage or both that determines the speed that the etching works? I measured 4.6V at 4.93A when doing this...

That's a good question. I did find one article on the net that stated that increasing the amps will make it etch faster. It also states that increasing the voltage is what increases the amperage.

http://www.en.crujera.com/publicatio...d-voltage.html

Here's some info on Ohm's Law.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohm%27s_law

[jbkuma]

I believe increased voltage will help with conducting through the solution, thereby allowing more current to flow. Similar to increased voltage being more likely to spark in open air.

[poconosjon@aol.com]

So here is the 3rd attempt... I was not as careful cutting my design as I am more interested in getting the timing down. This was at 10 minutes..
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wmkhJUTVsEZmA15n9

[jbkuma]

Not bad, but I think you want to limit your current a bit more. Slower and more controlled will get better results and cleaner edges. 10min is really fast for that deep of an etch.

[ARKM]

Definitely better.

[poconosjon@aol.com]

My next test will be a 5 minute etch time. I have also ordered some sheets of PNP Blue so when I am ready, it will be cleaner than trying to cut the design by hand. I will be trying that possibly tonight or tomorrow... Will post results