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I figured I'd past this tutorial here in case there's any interest. On a side note, a similar process can be done on steel using salt water and a different kind of applicator. I haven't tried the steel process yet since I have other means of marking steel, but others are doing it with great success.
Here's my original post on WG, in parts due to the photo limit:
One of the requirements for the builder's challenge this year is that the Weaponsguild logo has to be on the gun. I wanted to try something new and opted for trying to electro-etch the logo into some brass. I had seen a link someone had posted and luckily had saved the link for future reference. Here it is: http://steampunkworkshop.com/electroetch.shtml
I read through the thread a couple of times and it occurred to me that there was some info missing. I noticed at the end of the thread there was a link to yet another more comprehensive site: http://www.greenart.info/galvetch/contfram.htm
It was there that I found the information I needed to construct a cathode for the etching process.
Today was my first day to electro-etch anything ever. For technical questions see the greenart link above.
Per the steampunk link instruction I put some glossy inkjet photo paper into the feed tray of a laser printer. The idea of combining the glossy paper with the laser toner is to not allow the toner to get a bite into the paper so it sits on top .
I already had the artwork supplied from the "Weaponsguild Logo Discussion thread: http://www.weaponsguild.com/forum/in...0988#msg300988 The first order of business is to flip the image so that the words read backwards. This way it will read correctly after you iron it onto the metal. Next problem was to reverse the colors of the image so that the black areas are white and visa-versa. It will make more sense later after the voided areas are filled with paint.
Look at the bottom stencils. The white one would read backwards after ironing and the etch would have to eat a lot of area off of the metal:
Tonight I used copper sheet because it was all I had. I bought a brass kick plate from HD that turned out to be brass plated aluminum that won't work. I found some sheet in the shop and used it since I was already set up to etch. I used scotchbrite to remove all of the corrosion and imputities from the sheet copper then wiped it down with denatured alcohol to remove any dirt or oil. I cut the pieces to the size of my pictures:
Next you flip the picture over onto the copper and iron it on with the iron set on high. Make sure that you don't let the paper slide around and smear the laser toner and ruin your image. I also used an old ink roller to press the paper firmly onto the metal.
After the metal cools enough for you to touch it, drop it into a bucket of water to soften the paper. After about 10 minutes the paper will soften enough start peeling it off
Remove as much as you can till it starts to dry then drop it back into the bucket. Leaving it in water will not hurt the toner at all. I just keep rubbing the paper with my fingers to keep from scratching through the toner. I end up with this:
Here's my original post on WG, in parts due to the photo limit:
One of the requirements for the builder's challenge this year is that the Weaponsguild logo has to be on the gun. I wanted to try something new and opted for trying to electro-etch the logo into some brass. I had seen a link someone had posted and luckily had saved the link for future reference. Here it is: http://steampunkworkshop.com/electroetch.shtml
I read through the thread a couple of times and it occurred to me that there was some info missing. I noticed at the end of the thread there was a link to yet another more comprehensive site: http://www.greenart.info/galvetch/contfram.htm
It was there that I found the information I needed to construct a cathode for the etching process.
Today was my first day to electro-etch anything ever. For technical questions see the greenart link above.
Per the steampunk link instruction I put some glossy inkjet photo paper into the feed tray of a laser printer. The idea of combining the glossy paper with the laser toner is to not allow the toner to get a bite into the paper so it sits on top .
I already had the artwork supplied from the "Weaponsguild Logo Discussion thread: http://www.weaponsguild.com/forum/in...0988#msg300988 The first order of business is to flip the image so that the words read backwards. This way it will read correctly after you iron it onto the metal. Next problem was to reverse the colors of the image so that the black areas are white and visa-versa. It will make more sense later after the voided areas are filled with paint.
Look at the bottom stencils. The white one would read backwards after ironing and the etch would have to eat a lot of area off of the metal:
Tonight I used copper sheet because it was all I had. I bought a brass kick plate from HD that turned out to be brass plated aluminum that won't work. I found some sheet in the shop and used it since I was already set up to etch. I used scotchbrite to remove all of the corrosion and imputities from the sheet copper then wiped it down with denatured alcohol to remove any dirt or oil. I cut the pieces to the size of my pictures:
Next you flip the picture over onto the copper and iron it on with the iron set on high. Make sure that you don't let the paper slide around and smear the laser toner and ruin your image. I also used an old ink roller to press the paper firmly onto the metal.
After the metal cools enough for you to touch it, drop it into a bucket of water to soften the paper. After about 10 minutes the paper will soften enough start peeling it off
Remove as much as you can till it starts to dry then drop it back into the bucket. Leaving it in water will not hurt the toner at all. I just keep rubbing the paper with my fingers to keep from scratching through the toner. I end up with this:
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