Failed Electro Etch

[Gaspasser9000]

Made my own etching and matching device from an AC/DC adaptor. It puts out about 10v AC and DC. On a sanded and alcohol cleaned piece of soft steel, using some carpenters glue as a block, I was unable to produce an etch. The black marking sanded right off after. It did bubble in DC. It did blacken in AC. I progressively used about 30, 60 and 90 seconds of each in 3 different spots. No differences. Any suggestions?

 

[HeavyHanded]

More time.

I electro-etched one of my kettlebells, took about 12 hours total. A knife can get a deep etch in a couple of minutes, so just keep trying till you get a feel for how long you will need on different sized pieces.