Damascus Pattern Rubbing Off?

[Levi Prince]

Hi, I know this isn't the right topic for this but I figured knife people would know alot about damascus. I just made a batch of cable damscus rings using EIPS Bright cable. I pulled them out of the etch after an hour and it looked great, neutralized it in baking soda solution and it still looked great. But then I went to dry it off and the pattern rubbed off on the towel. I tried re etching it and just letting it sit after the etch instead of drying it with a towel, and the pattern just faded away. Anyone encountered this before?

[anvil]

What did you use for your etch medium?

[Levi Prince]

Ferric Chloride solution diluted half and half.

[templehound]

Your etch is not deep enough thats because you can wipe it off.

Ferric chloride is good for coloring but not good for deep etching.

Etch with H2So4(38%, room temperature)to get some depth then etch in ferric chloride to get rhe colors,

But cold instant coffee is much better then ferric chloride.....the etch with coffe is more even, it etches faster and it is no chemical poison when it needs to be disposed.

 

[Steve Sells]

remember cable doesn't give much to see anyway, since the color is based only on carbon loss due to migration

[Bob Brandl]

Just use a less diluted solution of the ferric. May not get the best results from cable as stated, but a stronger solution will etch just fine.