Relief Electro-Etching for Champleve Enamel - Part 4
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- Parent Category: Technical Articles from Journal Back Copies
- Category: Technical Articles 2009
Raymond Jackson
An Alternative Electrolyte
In the literature are references to many solutions that can electro-etch copper and other metals. Among these are salt solution and even Coca Cola. However, the copper sulphate electrolyte has the major advantage of not creating by-products and of retaining its potency almost indefinitely.
It is perhaps only the settling-in phenomenon that prompted me to think about electrolytes other than copper sulphate. Knowing that a weak nitric acid solution will also etch copper and in the process create copper nitrate, I decided to purchase a 500gm drum of the latter (Cu(N03)2 and to make up a solution of this for trial. It has the same irritant characteristic as the copper sulphate, so gloves are again recommended. A saturated solution is 1380gm/litre and in view of its much greater solubility, I used a 1:4 solution by dissolving 172gm in 500ml of distilled water. Because of the cell chemistry described at the outset, a copper nitrate solution should also last indefinitely. Allowing for postage, the copper nitrate crystals cost about the same as copper sulphate.