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P.K.Hansen

P.K.Hansen

Joined
Aug 8, 1999
Messages
402
I've tried to etch with my new stencils, and they are just fine, but after ac-etching when I wipe the blade, the black colour is gone, leaving a dull grey.
Do I need to etch for a longer time with ac or is my solution not the right one for ATS 34 ?:(
 
I started having the same problem. It turned out that I had started wiping of the blade to soon, thus removing all the oxide out of the mark before they had a chance to bond. After etching give the mark about a minute before cleaning it up. Also do not use the stencil cleaning solution for cleaning the blade. It will remove the black oxide in a heart beat. Just a teeny bit of Flitz or similar polish is all the is needed.
 
That could be it - I wipe the blade immediately after etching and spray on some oil.
Will Flitz or chromepolish not make the mark bright ?
 
As long as I wait a short time and use only enough to remove the solution residue the mark stays black. Might try using only water or maybe windex after a couple minutes. Not sure if that would help but I plan on trying it on the next blade I mark.

I really think the trick is waiting. Etch just long enough to make the mark good and black, then wait a minute or two before cleaning. Try it out on a scrap and see if that works for you.
 
I just tried one where I waited two minutes. That didn't help, so next time I'll give it five minutes before wiping the blade.
 
I use a car battery charger to etch. I find that if I reverse the polarity + - ie swap the clip wire and the carbon brush wire one deposits more black than the other. something to do with the curent
flow or just wishfull thinking but it seams to happen. I normally
try for the grey look because my logo is a sea turtle and I buff it to a shine when I etch it in. Sometimes I etch the rest of the blade and leave the turtle up silver. (damascus)

If your machine is a comercially made one it is probably set for the correct polarity. But just grasping at straws.
good luck
 
One thing I've noticed is that the degree of darkness has to do with the hardness of the metal. If you are edge quenching you may want to make a test blade and try to etch on both the hard and soft steel. I find the harder the steel the darker the etch.
 
AAARRGHH MAN. I can't believe I did this but I did. I mixed up the AC and the DC buttons on my etcher. Stupid son of a ....
Every time I made a nice black mark, I then burned it out again.
I haven't used it for a long time but thats no excuse - I've wanted to mark that thing for years now, and it took three blades with a bad logo to get off my butt.
So if you have made your own etcher, MARK THE SWITCHES.:grumpy:
 
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