Copper Etching

Hello fellow artists!  It's Julie Peterson here from @nuthouse73 bringing you something a little different, copper metal etching.

I love stencils! They are one of my favorite tools.  This is the first time I have applied them to my metal working.  They worked absolutely fabulous!  I ended up making a few pendants, which could also be journal charms, a page clip, a pair of earrings, and a ring.  The possibilities are endless!  

I used stencils

S831 Celestial Bodies by Kathryn Costa

L579 ATC Mixup #2 by Mary Beth Shaw

SC022023B Rolodex Redesign by Tina Walker

L279 Celtic Celebration by June Pfaff Daley

L427 What’s Your Sign by Cathy Nichols

S033 Ray Circles by Michelle Ward

L764 Celtic Spirals Mask by Valerie Sjodin

L651 ATC Mixup by Pam Carrike

Let’s get started!

First gather your supplies.

Gloves

Safety glasses

Ferric chloride

Liver of sulfur 

Acetone 

Copper blanks or copper sheet 1mm thick

Stencils 

Sharpie marker

Spray paint, any color

91% isopropyl alcohol 

Sand paper from 400- 2000 gritt 

Duct tape

2 disposable Plastic dishes

Tooth pick or awl

Paper towels

Joyce Chen kitchen scissors, only if you are cutting copper sheet

Beadsmith metal hole punch if you want to put holes in your copper pieces.

WELL VENTILATED AREA 

Pick some stencils and audition them, for your pieces.  Start prepping your metal, if you have blanks polish them with the 2000 grit sandpaper going in a back and forth motion in the same direction, if you have sheet metal, cut it to the size you want for your image and sand it starting with your coarsest sand paper and moving to the finest; sanding in the same direction.  When you have achieved a nice shinny surface put on your gloves and wipe the it down with isopropyl alcohol to remove all the oils from the surface. 

Place your stencil over your copper piece and spray it with the spray paint, pick the stencil off and let the piece dry.  In the meantime, let's get the duct tape ready and the acid bath prepped.   You're probably going to want to take your gloves off to prep the duct tape but, save them we still need them.  Get a big enough piece to span your container for the acid and then some, we are going to use it to suspend the copper pieces face down in the acid.  Lay the duct tape face up on your work surface and fold over each end about a 3/4 of an inch ( doesn't have to be precise) so you have a place to hold on to. Put your gloves back on, so you don’t get any oil on your now clean and painted copper pieces.  Grab your now dry copper pieces and color all the edges with the sharpie marker.  Place them design side up on the sticky part of the duct tape, set aside. 

Now let’s prep the acid bath.  Make sure you have your gloves and your safety glasses on.  Get one of your disposable plastic containers put enough ferric chloride in it that your piece will only be touching the acid when its suspended.  Get the other disposable container and put some water in it, enough to rinse your pieces of copper. Take the duct tape strip with your pieces on it turn it over and suspend it in the dish sticking the tape to the side of the container.  Set a timer for 30 minutes.  When the timer goes off gently agitate the dish, careful not to spill.  Set the timer again for 30 minutes.  After an hour you can lift the pieces out, rinse it and check how deep the etching is with a tooth pick or awl, if you want a deeper etch put it back in the acid checking it every 30 minutes.  If your pieces are ready to go, remove them from the tape, rinse and pat dry with a paper towel. 

Check your local area for instructions to safely dispose of the acid.

Time for the liver of sulfur, (warning smells like rotten eggs).  You can buy prepared or unprepared liver of sulfur, follow the directions on the package for how to use the kind that you purchased.  

Cover the copper pieces with liver of sulfur, leave them in the liver of sulfur until they are almost black.   Rinse them and pat them dry with a paper towel.  Don’t worry they're going to be beautiful.  

Wet a portion of paper towel with acetone and wipe the spray paint off the copper pieces until all the paint is removed.  

Time for adding holes, ear wires, jump rings or whatever you feel like making them into.  Should you want to preserve the finish, coat them with a wax ( renaissance wax) or a clear coat.  

Thank you for hanging out and happy creating!

  

Julie