Gold makers mark

[jdm61]

I was checking out a picture of a Dovo razor where they had plated the tang andspine and you appear to be correct. The gold did not get down into the electro-etched letters, Sounds like you might have to etch and then got back and "clean" the letters out with a grave. What I was talking about with the "shield" logo is etching before FeCl etching the damascus, etching and then covering the surrounding etched part with nail polish or lacquer an "coloring inside the lines" to plate the still polished surface of the logo. This is my current stamp so you can understand what I am babbling about. The gold would be applied to the flat surface inside the oval border.
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JDM,

Ernie's background is in the Circuit Board industry also. The process that he uses to make stencils for etching is very similar to what you need for plating the Ni/Au. Problem is that the electro plating will bleed under the stencil much worse than the etching process does. Thus you plating resist needs to be really bonded to the surface of the steel to prevent this, and then stripped away chemically after plating.


Process is usually something like this:
1) clean metal part
2) coat with photosensitive plating resist
3) expose photo resist using your logo artwork
4) develop away unexposed resist
5) plate area now exposed thru resist
6) strip photo resist

This is a simplified version of the process. There are alot of variables to control in each step in order to get good results.

Another thing to consider is that it sounds like you are wanting to etch your logo first and then plate. Keep in mind that the surface in the etched area is relatively rough and somewhat dirty(ie: hard to clean the etching residues without degrading your photoresist). Your subsequent Ni/Au plating will in all likelyhood not be thick enough to cover the surface roughness enough to fill in the roughness enough to not have a Matte finish to your gold.

I am not saying that it can't be done, just that there are a lot of things to think about. Wish I still had access to a shop it sounds like it would be a fun process to try to perfect.

Jeff

 

[Iwannashoot]

JDM,

Now I understand what you are talking about and it would be pretty easy to accomplish. You would need a negative of your current logo.

Process would be.

1) apply photoresist
2) image with negative artwork
3) develop away unpolimerized resist
4) plate Ni/Au
5) strip resist and then etch in ferric chloride.

the background inside your oval would be gold and the lettering would be etched damascus. Assuming the surface of the ricasso is smooth and shiney then your Ni/Au would come out that way. Make sure you specify Bright Nickel, as there are some nickle plating processes that give a matte finish. Also ask what effect the feric chloride has on Nickel. I pretty sure your gold will be fine, but Fcl might attack the edge of the Nickle

Jeff

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Plating only reflects the metal finish underneath the plating. If it's rough or satin, you can't "plate it smooth and shiny."
There would be no need for nickel underplate on steel. Gold easily electroplates onto steel.

 

[jdm61]

Thanks guys. What I was looking to do with my current logo is just electro etch it like normal and then plate the smooth, shiny part inside the oval. If I could get the gold down in the lettering and border, that would be a bonus. For a simple name stamp. I would want to get it down in the letters, fine sand the surface to remove any excess plating and hopefully it would be able to stand up to the acid when I etched the rest of the blade. The problem I had early one when I was just using my last name is that the "stamp" gets totally washed out. I got the idea of the oval stamp from Bruce Bump's mark and had Ernir make a similar one for me. It is still a little tricky to "mask" it with nail polish. I think that is why Ernie came up with an overlay for the logo. Making any mark stand out is really only an issue for me with damascus. The light multiple etches that you have to do for a hamon doesn't really mess it up because it is monosteel and you don't etch for very long.

Plating only reflects the metal finish underneath the plating. If it's rough or satin, you can't "plate it smooth and shiny."
There would be no need for nickel underplate on steel. Gold easily electroplates onto steel.