Ferric Chloride rant

[Ivan Campos]

I have tryed it about a half dozen times or more on a blade this afternoon and it came up with ugly, very uneven darker marks on the etching.
It never happened to me before - as a matter of fact I always considered etching with ferric Chloride a simple and easy process - and has really pissed me off!
I´ll give it another try tomorrow when my humour gets better.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Ivan,what is the metal you are etching? Some things that can cause spots in the etch are -
Uneven hardness of the blade
Scale and other contaminants being forged back into the blade.
Blade not surgically clean (many solvents are oil based and leave as film of oil)
Etchant too warm;old;contaminated;mixed with tap water

Solutions vary - Lightly resand the blade,clean,clean,clean it.Re-etch in fresh ferric mixed with distilled water.
Good luck - Stacy

 

[ddavelarsen]

How fresh is your solution, Ivan? Might be time to start a new batch. I've heard from folks around here that some other metals can contaminate the bath and cause problems like that. Here's an interesting article Fitzo posted on another thread:

The Chemistry of Ferric Chloride

Good luck! Deep breath... Deep breath...

 

[Ivan Campos]

I´ll make another solution later today and try again.
Yesterday was a very, very hot day and that is good only for bear, not Ferric Chloride. Let´s see if I can make it work today - now I am pretty sure the problem was when I cleaned the blade - I possibly left some of the liquid soap in it.
Thanks for your help, guys!