- Joined
- Sep 27, 2007
- Messages
- 7,680
Did my first etch this evening. My custom stencils from TUS aren't here yet, but I had this one for ATS-34 from Tracy Mickley, so when my personalizer showed up this evening I had to give it a go.
I think it turned out ok, and I owe it in part to Tom Krein who gave some good advice on getting a nice clear, deep, and dark mark. Tom mentioned that many people tend not to etch deep enough or dark enough, possibly because they are worried about burn, too much darkening, etc. He told me to etch good and deep and do plenty of marking and not to worry about the dark haze that spreads out from the mark, just go back to my final finishing grit and clean it up, so I gave it a shot.
I used the standard personalizer and did 7 passes at 10 seconds each on the "etch" setting. Then I switched to the "mark" setting and did 6 passes at 3-4 seconds each. Seems to have worked alright. I'll have to fiddle with it but I think I'm in the ballpark. Thanks Tom:thumbup:
A couple of questions: Are the etching pads a one use and throw away item, or can you use them more than once? Also, the etcher comes with two different electrolytes, one for aluminum etc, and one for carbides etc, but they both say they work on stainless. Is one better than the other for stainless steels like the CPM varieties, or 154CM, ATS-34 and the like or are they both adequate?
I think it turned out ok, and I owe it in part to Tom Krein who gave some good advice on getting a nice clear, deep, and dark mark. Tom mentioned that many people tend not to etch deep enough or dark enough, possibly because they are worried about burn, too much darkening, etc. He told me to etch good and deep and do plenty of marking and not to worry about the dark haze that spreads out from the mark, just go back to my final finishing grit and clean it up, so I gave it a shot.
I used the standard personalizer and did 7 passes at 10 seconds each on the "etch" setting. Then I switched to the "mark" setting and did 6 passes at 3-4 seconds each. Seems to have worked alright. I'll have to fiddle with it but I think I'm in the ballpark. Thanks Tom:thumbup:
A couple of questions: Are the etching pads a one use and throw away item, or can you use them more than once? Also, the etcher comes with two different electrolytes, one for aluminum etc, and one for carbides etc, but they both say they work on stainless. Is one better than the other for stainless steels like the CPM varieties, or 154CM, ATS-34 and the like or are they both adequate?
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