Maillemaker Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Some of the most distinctive pattern welded steel I've seen has had a beautiful topographic etch. How is an etch like this produced? Is it all in material selection,or a specific acid? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy k Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 What etchant works best depends on what alloy you used too! What I use for a bright clear etch on my billets might be a muddy dark etch on yours.I like hot vinegar and salt for items that I don't want topography on and use Ferric Chloride for items that do need topo. I generally weld up bandsaw blade and pallet strapping.Note that Sulfuric Acid, H2SO4, is what is used in Car batteries and so most automotive places will have some on hand! Muratic is used to clean masonry and can often be found at building materials stores. Ferric Chloride is printed circuit board etchant at many Radio Shacks.Maille - in the subsection youve posted this threadhttp://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/20-alchemy-and-formulas/ - there is plenty of posts that discuss this topic, there is multiple pages per subsection to explore/learn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 If you are going for deep topography you may need to remove and clean the piece several times to get rid of the crud that builds up blocking the action of the etchant. It is usually better to use a dilute acid for a long time than try a stronger one as the strong acids tend to eat *everything* and you want a differential etch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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