When etching damascus with muriatic acid do you dilute it if so by how much.In the past I'v used the PCB etchant from Radio Shack . But muriatic is much cheaper.

A.S.T.

AST,
I don't dilute the muriatic but I do keep a close eye on it. Check your blades every 30 minutes or so. You can also mix 7 parts muriatic to 1 part ferric chloride to get more colors out of the steel. Use this in a well ventilated area. It will release a lot of chlorine gas.

Note that each blend of metals may need slightly different etchants to get the best from a piece---why learning 1 mix throughly helps as you can get heat treat and etching down pat for that and then go on to add other mixes.

For the health risks involved with muriatic I prefer to use the pcb etchant. I have found that lots of folks are having troubles finding it at Radio Shack. If they tell you they are out,,look at all the top shelves and all over the store. The last two bottles I bought they did not know they had. For a mix of water and acid follow the golden rule AAA,, always add acid. There can be a reaction if you add water to acid. With Acid work outdoors and watch the wind keep wind at your back. If you use a container other than the one it came in mark it clearly as to what is in it. Such as two parts muriatic pool acid and one part water. Hope all works well for you.

^ Good Advise, now if the wind would just stop changing directions


Offhand Id say all "Muriatic" (Hydrochloric) acid sold is already diluted, check the bottle to verify where your starting from. It can range from 14% to over 30% for stuff sold to the general public

In general the stuff for pools can be on the lower side vs the stuff for etching concrete which can be on the higher side, though you can get higher concentrations for pool use too. Even higher concentrations are available (generally as hydrochloric acid) from chemical supply houses
Hydrochloric Acid, The Science Company. (36>38%)
Hydrochloric Acid, 50% ScienceLab.Com
dilute to suit (sorry I havent etched pattern welded steel, just pickled large architectural items)

If you go to Radio Shack you need to find a fully stocked one; one that sells electronic components such as circuit boards, transistors resistors, etc or they probably won't stock PCB. (At least that is the case around here). The one I went to listed it in their catalog but it was listed as "in store only" meaning they can't ship it anywhere. However, they didn't stock it there. They only sold products such as radios, cell phones TVs and other complete products, but no DYI stuff.

What other kinds of chemicals can you use for ecthing?

Warm lemon juice does a wonderful job on pattern welded steel made from 1084 and 15n20. If you get tired of etching blades you can always make lemonade with your etchant. Try doing that with muriatic acid!

LOL

or you can have your pie and etch with it too


Carboxylic acid
Oxalic acid

etch steel Oxalic acid - Google Search

not that Ive actually done that, just a direction of research ;)

if you do decide to use the higher consentrations (30-36Molar) of hydrochloric acid you have to be very careful because it is unstable and will turn to hydrogenchloride the gas. The gas can react with the moisture in your nose and mouth and make some nasty burns. It happened to a kid on friday during a lab.