Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Bead Table Wednesday--Etching Woes

I just finished etching some copper.  I had been storing my etchant (ferric chloride) for a while and when I opened it up there was some crystalline looking debris floating on the surface of the etchant. I had never encountered that before. I stirred it up and added some fresh etchant. It looked okay.

Whatever that debris was, it floated back to the surface and partially masked the surface of the copper.  I did stir the etchant when I checked the copper during the process but that wasn't enough. 

Here's the sheet I did with text and some fish. This would have been more than one piece after I cut it up.  I think the fish will be okay--the spots look kind of like bubbles, but probably only some of the text will be usable. And it may not be usable at all.  I'll have to see what it looks like with LOS on it.  The sheets look better in person than they do in the photos, fortunately.



unexpected results when etching

 These other two pieces will probably be okay, but only because I was planning on cutting in close to the design, so the odd spots will be cut off. 

unexpected results when etching

unexpected results when etching

My husband was nice enough to strain the etchant through a coffee filter and get rid of whatever those particles were.  


These are just the first of a big batch I need to do. Hopefully the others will be contamination free. 


Check out the other Bead Table Wednesday posts:


7 comments:

Judy said...

OMG, these are going to be wonderful!

I can't wait to see the one with text and fish oxidized! I think the bubbles will add an awesome effect to it all :D I've been dying to have some etched metal but haven't gotten supplies around to try it.

So many supplies, so little time!

BahamaDawn said...

your etched pieces are so cool!! i especially love the fish! etching is something i have had the nerve to try yet!

Diana P. said...

I think they look good and will look even better when they have been oxidized!

Leslie Todd said...

Thanks, all. Etching is very addictive. Someday I'll try photo transfers instead of stamps.

Gaby Bee said...

Thanks so much for being a new follower on my blog! I'm delighted to see new faces, because they lead me to their own blogs that I might not have found before! I'm excited to find you! I have some catching up to do in exploring new blogs, but from what I've seen on yours so far, I'm going to have a lot of fun seeing your pictures.
These etched pieces are amazing!

Have a lovely week!
Gaby

Leslie Todd said...

Thanks Gaby! I enjoyed visiting your blog. You've got some wonderful art. I wish I could find some doll parts like those you found, too.

My Life Under the Bus said...

LOVE to etch and I think these are pretty awesome - it's definately an unpredictable process - love the wings they came out fantastic!