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Pine Beach, NJ

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Graphic hard ground for etching

Q. I etch figures drawn in graphic hard ground wax in stainless steal with Edinburg solution (ferric chloride ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] + citric acid ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] ) with the knife as anode (+12 V). The problem is that the wax cannot resist the etching satisfactorily, as small pictures are etched out of control. I want a hard ground which can resist the etching but is fine for drawing the fine lines of the figure.

Lars Tougaard
Tougaard knives - Faaborg, Denmark

A. Try Lascaux Hard resist which is a paint-on acrylic resist which replaces the role of solvent-based hard ground. It is very mordant resistant and works well on copper, zinc and steel. Use a very soft square-ended flat brush to apply the resist and dry the plate flat. It is waxy so is easy to draw into. Remove the resist with Evans Vanodine Mystrol cleaner which is also safe to use in comparison to solvents.

Carol Robertson
- Scotland, UK

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