Sunday, September 28, 2008

More Etching Tidbits

I've been doing a little more experimenting with my copper etching techniques. I got a really nice new sharpie paint pen that works pretty well as an etching resist. You can get them with an ultra-fine tip, and they dry very quickly and stand up well to ferric chloride etching solution (I haven't tried it with ferric nitrate yet) I used the sharpie paint pen to make some new etched copper beads. Since the paint pen dries quickly, it makes it easier to draw on all sides of a three dimensional object. The one problem I've noticed with the sharpie paint pens is that the paint scrapes off metal easily, but as long as you are careful not to scratch the paint, they work well. I also discovered that erasers work really well for highlighting oxidized metal. The eraser gives higher contrast than steel or bronze wool, because it only hits the higher surfaces of the metal. The bead at the top of the post was oxidized and highlighted with bronze wool, while the bead below was highlighted with an eraser. Both were tumbled after oxidizing and highlighting.

8 comments:

Katie Do said...

Thanks for the eraser tip!

Janice said...

You totally rock!! I've begun experimenting more with etching again....with bimetal. Love the eraser tip - thanks!

Copperheart said...

bimetal etching is something I've alway wanted to try- I don't have any plating equipment though!

Anonymous said...

That is VERY cool! Love the detail!


http://nicolebaker.livejournal.com

Cristina Leonard said...

I love the eraser tip! Can I ask how you suspend beads in the acid with out getting acid inside the bead? Thanks for the great tutorials.

Copperheart said...

Actually I don't worry too much about getting a little acid inside the beads. The metal is thick enough that a little etching on the inside hasn't been a problem and I make sure I clean them out really well when they are done.

Unknown said...

Where do you get the copper beads.
Thanks
Jerry

Copperheart said...

Jerry - I get the beads at Thompson Enamel.