Why? I took up etching due to being inspiring at a Festival of the Rose by Snorri. I thought the idea was amazing and that led me to researching the period use of chemical and acid etching. I wanted to make an etched plate and combine it with my love of languages. SO my first had been the Hieroglyphs. This one was something from a Pharaohs tomb and I was using it to learn more form the process, building on what I had learned in my previous tries and after talking to Snorri about some changes to my process. Components 1 piece of Mild Steel 4 inches by 6 inches. 1 cup of Copper Sulfate 1 cup of Non-iodized Table Salt 4 cups of water ~4 Tablespoons of beeswax ~4 Tablespoons of Paraffin Isopropyl Alcohol Tools Hacksaw Metal grinder 2000 grit sandpaper Hot Air Gun Wood Burner with changeable tips Wax Warmer Sharpie Marker (Red) Craft knife (X-Acto knife) A micro-tool set with interchangeable small and micro flat head A plastic container to hold the solution and chemical Nitrile gloves Parchment Paper Course Brush The Process
The Etching
The Result The final product had a very deep etch, much better than my first one a few months ago. As advised, I cleaned the plate and did a light buff with sandpaper to ensure that there was little to no impurities between the solution and the metal. The black parts in the image are where the solution etched the metal, removing it. You can obviously see where there was residual wax in those areas. Even though it was a really thin layer, it still prevented the etching process. Overall the etch was a big success. I wouldn't say that this was entry worthy into a competition, but I would say that the amount I learned from this is a big stepping stone in my process. Lesson Learned
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