Acid Etching Metal Jewelry, Part 4b

by Virginia Vivier
(Esprit Mystique Jewelry)

Acid Etching Metal Jewelry

Part 4b: Etching on Silver
Using Ferric Nitrate

. . . Continued from Part 4a

HERE IS WHERE I BLEW IT!

A 50/50 solution of ferric nitrate takes twice as long to etch silver as ferric chloride does to etch copper and brass.

CAUTION: Don't be blasé about it. I learned the hard way.

Below is a photo of a nice, thick piece of silver I was etching for a bracelet.

I got involved in another project and lost track of time. It was in the etch bath for 6 hours and the ferric nitrate etched holes all the way through the silver in some spots:



I was miffed at my neglect (and material loss), but it was a valuable lesson.

I was pleased to see that the dry toner resist held up very well the whole time. The red Staedler border ink mask did break down somewhat. I should have taped it, but I didn't think it would be etching for 6 hours!

Since then, I always carry a loud alarm timer set for 30 minutes as a reminder to check on the etch bath.

(Fortunately, I was able use the middle section of the design, so it wasn't a complete loss. And, you can always send silver (mistake) scraps to a refiner in exchange for a $$ check.)

The back of the silver sheet was covered with clear packing tape to protect it from etching. So the etching came from the front side of the piece.

The clear acetate shows how well the dry toner melted onto the metal.

Only a few spots of the black dry toner are left on the clear acetate. Most of the dry toner melted on to the silver nicely.

In case you place the iron on the design too long, delicate lines may run together.

So it might take a bit of experimenting to see how long it takes to melt the toner and still retain crisp design elements.

You can always start over if the toner smears or doesn't transfer completely.

Just clean off the metal with acetone (or alcohol) and begin again. No loss.

You'll get the hang of it after a few tries.

Summary of Etching on Silver:

THE DESIGN


"Branch" Bracelet, sterling silver, by Sandra Noble Goss.

a.) Draw your design directly on silver using a red Staedtler pen.

b.) Or, use Future clear floor wax (or fingernail polish) as a resist. Scratch out a design through the resist. You can also use tape as a resist to block off areas.

c.) Or, draw a design on paper, then scan it, resize it, and save it on Photoshop using the darkest black / white contrast available.

Print out the design in highest resolution possible.

d.) Make sure any lettering or numbers in your design are "mirror" image, so they "read right" when transferred to the silver:



e.) Copy the design at a photocopy store (or use your own copier) on a machine that uses dry toner. Set the copy as dark as possible to achieve a thick layer of dry toner on a sheet of heavy magazine paper or acetate transparency.

f.) Cut out the dry toner design copy leaving a ¼ inch margin around the perimeter.

DESIGN TRANSFER TO SILVER

a.) To recap - Layer design, silver and paper towels, per diagram as shown:



(Make sure your flat workspace is not harmed by the heat of the iron. I have scorch marks on my dining room table! An old desk or wood table works well. Must be completely FLAT. An ironing board does not work.)

b.) Heat an old iron to hottest setting. (Note: A newer, expensive iron that has an "automatic shut off" won't work.)

c.) You can use an old electric skillet, set at 350 degrees, just reverse the order of the diagram above so the silver design is facing up. Use something very flat and very heavy (an iron?) to lay on top of the design. Don't wiggle it when you remove it or it may smear the melted toner. It helps if the weight has a handle so it can be lifted straight up easily.

d.) The iron (or skillet) remains in contact with the silver until the dry toner melts on the metal.
Note: The time may vary depending on the thickness of the silver, depth of toner and heat of the iron (or skillet). You can hear the iron and the skillet thermostats clicking on and off to maintain the temperature.

e.) When you lift the iron off the metal, don't remove the paper (or transparency acetate) from the silver. Let it cool down slowly. When it is cool enough to touch, carefully pick it up by the edges and drop it into a glass jar of water. When it is cool, you can pop off the transparency acetate or soak off the magazine paper, leaving the dry toner layer that has melted onto the silver.



f.) Tape off areas of your design (such as the back) that you do not want to etch.

g.) Attach silver (dry toner side down) to a piece of Styrofoam, or a piece of plastic bubble envelope, so it will float (like a flat bottomed boat) on top of the ferric chloride etch bath.

THE FERRIC NITRATE ETCH BATH

a.) Using a plastic or glass container, wide enough to accommodate your silver "boats," mix 50:50 solution of ferric nitrate. Container can be shallow in depth since the silver will be floating on top of the ferric nitrate solution.

Make sure your ferric nitrate container is sitting on top of, or beside something that vibrates, (Part 3 refers to dryer or aquarium air pump) to help move the etched particles off the metal.

b.) Set timer for 30 minutes and lay the silver "boats" on top of the ferric nitrate solution.

c.) Check every 30 minutes for level of etch you wish to achieve for your design. (I admit that sometimes I quickly stick my fingers into the ferric nitrate to pluck out a floating boat, and all it does is stain my fingers a bit. If washed off quickly, no stain on skin, but sometimes need to soak fingernails in weak bleach solution to remove the stains later that night.)



Also check for any missing areas in your design that may have deteriorated. You can rinse off the ferric nitrate and repair missing areas with red Staedtler pen if needed. Then return to acid bath.

d.) When design is etched to your satisfaction, remove from ferric nitrate and place in separate solution of 3 TBL baking soda and 1 cup water. When the solution stops fizzing, remove the silver and rinse thoroughly in water. Remove all tape and rinse again.

e.) Make sure you put a secure (plastic) lid on the ferric nitrate solution.

Admire your etched design!!!

This is the last in a series of 4 parts about acid etched designs on brass, copper and silver.

Your questions and comments are welcome!

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