Acid Etching Metal Jewelry, Part 3b

by Virginia Vivier
(Esprit Mystique Jewelry)

Acid Etching Brass and Copper Jewelry

Part 3b: Ferric Chloride Acid Bath

. . . Continued from Part 3a

This messy looking picture is my acid bath with 7 different pieces of brass, in different thicknesses, submerged for etching at the same time:



Always use a plastic (or glass) container for your Ferric Chloride acid bath. The container size depends on the size and shapes of metal you are etching.

I have a red metal rolling cart that I bought at Harbor Freight to hold all my etching supplies.

The 11" x 9" black plastic tray (a recycled frozen lasagna dish) underneath the etch bath container, protects the red metal rolling cart from any acid drips or spills.

The clear plastic container holding the Ferric Chloride acid bath is 6" square by 3" high.

You can buy them at any grocery store. They come with covers that fit tightly.



Aquarium Air Pump to Vibrate the Acid and Keep the Design Clean

When the Ferric Chloride etches brass or copper, tiny loose particles of the etched metal accumulate and clog up the design.

In order to get a clean etch, the liquid bath must be kept moving to bump the loose particles to the bottom of the container.

Best Methods for a Clean Etch:

a.) Tape your flat metal design to a 1" thick (or more) piece of Styrofoam using double-sided carpet tape. Your metal/Styrofoam sandwich acts like a boat and floats upside-down on the surface of the Ferric Chloride. Loose particles will fall off the metal design to the bottom of the bath. (See Styrofoam boat design below):



b.) Buy a small 3" aquarium air pump ($5 at WalMart) and tape it to the outside of the acid container so it vibrates and keeps the liquid moving. (Note small gray aquarium pump next to acid container, in the lower right corner of this photo):





If you are etching round objects, like bullet shell casings, you can plug the open end of the bullet shell with 4" inch length of thin wooden doweling:



This accomplishes 2 things:

1. It keeps any Ferric Chloride from etching the inside of the bullet shell casing.



2. It keeps the bullet shell submerged, but still floating above the bottom of the container, so the etched particles fall off easily.

If you don't want to take the time to make a Styrofoam boat for flat pieces of metal, you can punch a small hole in the upper corner of the metal:



. . . and tie a piece of fishing line to make a loop.

Hang these loops over a wooden stick across the top of the Ferric Chloride bath container.

The pieces of metal will hang vertically, so the loose particles of etched metal will fall to the bottom of the etching bath.

The only problem is that you can sometimes see the deep etched lines that are made by the loose particles falling in a vertical direction - as on this round disk with MOM design drawn with black Staedtler pen:



The disk was hung vertically and you can see the vertical lines etched in the finished pendant.

If you use a Styrofoam boat for flat pieces, the metal will etch evenly (horizontally) without leaving any vertical lines.

Below are photos of hand-drawn etch "resist" on flat metal which was etched horizontally on a Styrofoam boat.



This hand-drawn design was etched on a floating Styrofoam boat. The back of the metal was taped to prevent any etching on the back:



Finished design:



However, you CAN make a 2-sided design by etching the front and back, at the same time.

Use a thick piece of brass (or copper) so you can get a deep etch on both sides. A thinner piece of metal may etch holes all the way through the metal, if you etch both sides at the same time.


Next:
Click Here to Go to the Rest of Part 3 . . .


Questions or comments on Part 3b? Please ask!

Virginia Vivier
Esprit Mystique Artisan Jewelry
Esprit Mystique blog
Esprit Mystique Etsy
Tucson, Arizona