Today’s class was “Going Green for Easy Etching in the Home Studio” with Sherri Haab. Here is one of the sample pieces I made in the class: (the left side used a toner transfer resist and I used a paint pen on the right side)
It was a cool class. Sherri and her electrical engineer husband have developed a reliable, easy and environmentally friendly way of electro-etching. The process uses safer solutions than the traditional acid etching technique, the solutions can be reused and you can etch silver as well as copper, brass and bronze. Silver just requires a different solution, but it’s one that is way less toxic than nitric acid.
The process was very straightforward. We left the copper pieces in for about 2 hours. Some people did silver samples as well and those went faster. You can use a surprising variety of resists, PnP paper, toner transfer, dye resist and paint pens for example. The system is pricey, but the results are excellent and the absence of dealing with hazardous waste disposal is a huge plus.
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Etching is so much fun – I love Sherri’s method and the sterling etches beautifully! It was nice having Sherri and her daughters as next door neighbors at the show!