5/6/2024 0 Comments Metal Etchings for a Mestre
Equipment
The Process I began the process by drawing the image by hand on a piece of paper. Once I was happy with the overall look, I cleaned the metal disc with isopropyl alcohol, and then hand drew the image again onto the metal disc. NOTE: In the future I will probably try to use a transfer method such as carbon paper or a period technique for consistency. Drawing complete, I set it aside and began to prepare the wax solution. I added the 3 waxes into a ceramic warming dish. For safety reasons (I don't like open flames in the house, especially for long periods of time) I used an electric warming element and hot air gun to melt the waxes together, mixing them to make a combined solution. Once mixed together and I was happy with the consistency, I placed the disc on a piece of parchment paper. I poured the wax mixture of the medallion. I used the hot air gun to ensure the wax covered evenly. I then waited about 15 minutes for the wax to cool and harden. Now that the wax was hard, I used a scribe knife to trace out the edge lines (around the leaf edge and outer circle). Afterwards I removed the wax from the areas I wanted to etch. I used a flat metal blade (which scratched the metal as you can see). As this area was going to be removed, I was not worried about the scratches. I also used a scribe to remove the lines inside of the leaves. Once complete, I cutout the paper around the medallion and placed it aside. I took a plastic container and mixed my etch solution. I as the water first, as the powers blend well this well. I stirred the solution until all of the copper sulfate and salt appeared dissolved. I then submerged the waxed medallion in the solution and set a timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes I removed the medallion, cleaned of the copper residue and returned it to the solution. I repeated this process 4 more times, for a total time of 50 minutes in the solution. NOTE: I did notice that some wax was still on the "cleaned" areas. I thought about ways to help here and came up with cleaning the wax between etchings. I tried it after a few times of submersion. Had I started from the beginning I think it would have been much cleaner. (EDIT: I did try this later on another piece and it did have a major affect. I will be doing it in the future.) After the etching I removed the piece from the solution and cleaned it with water and isopropyl alcohol. I removed the wax using the hot air gun, and thoroughly cleaned the disc again. I let it dry for about 15 minutes. Once dry, I use a watered down black paint (about 2 drops of water to 3 drops of paint) to create a base covering of the etched areas. This was to help the paint get into the crevices of the etching. I let it dry for about 5 minutes. I then applied the full strength black paint again. I used a paper towel to remove any residual paint on un-etched areas. Thus I had finished. A more Modern take As I stated above, I did redo this again using a Cricut and permanent vinyl. I still used my hand drawn image, tracing it with a black marker to help the lines stand out. I scanned it in. Using a pictue editor, I added a cleaner circle around the medallion, and a place to where I would drill for a necklace hole. I used the same etching solution measurements and time frame. Once complete, I painted it green, per the request of Mestre Roisin who requested the piece. I made 2 of these medallions in this fashion. (picture below)
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