Samstag, 9. August 2014

Etching brass!



I finally did it. I bought some ferric chloride (FeCl3) and some brass sheet. I would have prefered copper but that was not available. Also I got a small metal scissor. Great for small details but not to work with a big sheet. Still, I got some test pieces out of it. My favorite is the little bee! I also etched the backside (the brass was thick enough). Since I am working in a S2-laboratory normally I always take care of the safety - from the gloves and goggles to the neutralisation of the solution and the information where I can safely deposit my waste (the ferric chloride as well as the copper inside the solution after the etching). 

The bird was a combination of a stamp with Staz-On and because not all areas were nicely covered I also took a red edding to enhance the image.


Some test pieces using different kind of markers as well as Staz-On stamping pad. The red colours (edding or sharpie) really seem to be better than the black ones. Maybe I also just had them too long inside the etching solution because also the Staz-On started to go off. The liver of sulphur is not working well on the protected brass regions but very well on the etched regions. There you also get a reddish coloured surface (I think the copper) and the liver of sulphur works great!


I also used the blue and green patina from Christi Friesen (Swellegant) on the brass after I used the liver of sulphur. It was difficult to catch the shades of blue and green but I really love the effect!


And in my hand so you get a better idea about the size :)


So many possibilities! Okay... the sanding and sanding and sanding... that is a part I hate. But still the end results make it worth!

3 Kommentare:

  1. Very nice results, Claire :) I am still not brave enough for chemical play but your post is very inspirational!

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  2. Loooove the bee! Do you mean sanding the metal edges? Or did you sand the surface, too? I think you got amazing images.

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  3. Not everyone is up to handling chemicals, much less etching with them, so this is awesome! Which part was the most challenging to do among these? With sanding and polishing, these would look even better. Thanks for sharing!

    Brandi Bradley @ Rotax Metals

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