Artist wants to etch copper and silver

Battery acid

on eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

A. Acid etching is one of my favorite things to do, for finishing a piece. Believe it or not, I've found battery acid ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] to be readily available and works well for most metals. Normal candle wax works to keep the whole thing from oxidizing, just melt and apply. If you are going to use battery acid ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] I would highly suggest glass containers, it is very corrosive stuff. In addition for cleanup or emergencies baking soda [in bulk on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and lots and lots of water do the trick; the baking soda neutralizes the acid and the water dilutes anything you miss (do not mix the two without adding water first).

You can usually get battery acid from any junkyard that recycles batteries, usually they are just after the lead in the cells rather than the acid. If you don't know how to drain the battery, find someone that does and get them to help.

For the actual process:

1. Have the piece finished and ready for the second or final polish.

2. Have a design in mind and be sure that you can fit it on the piece. I find making a scale paper model helps to make sure whatever you are doing will fit.

3. Melt wax and apply. To do this safely I suggest a commercial wax warmer, for those of us who don't have one I suggest either a hotplate or lastly, a stovetop. Get a big pot and fill about halfway with water, get a smaller pot (say 1/3-1/4 size) and fill with the wax you will be melting. Put the smaller pot in the water (it should float). Set the heat on medium-high, you want the water just below boiling, this will melt the wax. You can either dip the piece (very good if it is a complex piece, you can dip it in boiling water later on after etching to remove excess wax) or paint it on with a paintbrush (note foam doesn't work very well for this).

4. Etch your design into the wax, this takes the most time and the most patience for me. You need the lines to be clear, consistent, and even. The width of the lines now is how it's going to look after the etching.

5. Acid bath, soak the piece in your acid bath, watch it for the first five minutes to be sure that nothing has gone horribly wrong, then every 15 to 30 minutes remove the piece, inspect, and immerse until you have it the color you want.

6. Clean the finished piece with baking soda and water to neutralize any remaining acid. Polish and enjoy.

Hope this helps you on your way.

A. Best way to etch copper and silver is electrolytic etching process.

For small scale work you can use hobby drill rectifier or even 4,5 V battery.Object= anode(+),piece of copper sheet=cathode(-). Use diluted nitric acid electrolyte (1 part acid, 20 parts water. Wax is simplest resist.

Good luck!

A. Copper can also be etched with ferric chloride ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] which is readily available and allows for numerous resists - any lacquer, enamel or even a Sharpie permanent marker will work.

A. One VERY important item when dealing with strong acids. NEVER add water to acid! ALWAYS add the acid into water. Adding water to a strong acid can cause a violent reaction.

A. You can use electrolytic etching (object=anode; as cathode you can use stainless steel). Simplest current source for small object is hobby drill rectifier. Diluted nitric acid (1 part acid, 20 parts water) or 2-5% silver nitrate solution add few drops of nitric acid) can be used as electrolyte.
Good luck!

A. Hello, I think that ferric nitrate is what you might want to use -- see on goss design studio webpage (techniques, etching silver). They use it for silver jewelry; even I use electrolytic etching like above mentioned. Good luck.

A. You can use 5% silver nitrate solution (add a few drops nitric acid), or very dilute nitric acid.

Good luck!