DIY Network

Box Decoration Learn how to copper etch on a plate. From "Craft Lab" episode DCLB-157

Guest Kelly Farrell joins host Jennifer Perkins and demonstrates how to etch a photo into a copper plate by using the pigment of the printed PNP Blue paper as a resist. The copper plate is then attached to a box.

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Guest Kelly Farrell utilizes a special technique for etching a photo onto copper so you create unique items such as this box.

Box Decoration

Project designed by Kelly Farrell.

Materials:

Ferric chloride — a brownish acid for etching copper and bronze. In the USA, this is readily available from Radio Shack under the name "PCB Etchant"
copper sheet cut to fit the box
household ammonia
baking soda
black Sharpie marker
pumice cleaner such as Ajax or Comet
PNP Blue (photo etching paper)
hot plate
tweezers
burnisher or spoon
cup of water
steel tongs
Tupperware or plastic container large enough to fit your piece lying flat
safety gear (rubber gloves, safety glasses)
drill with small drill bit
small wood screws
liver of sulphur

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

Transferring the Image

1. Clean your metal thoroughly as before.

2. Prepare a black and white image, no gray. Areas that are black will be resisted; areas that are white will be etched.

3. Photocopy your image onto the PNP blue (figure A), or print directly onto it with a laser printer. Print it so that the toner goes onto the dull blue side, not the glossy side. Your image will be reversed, so if you are using text you'll need to print it onto the PNP blue backwards. An easy way to do this is to first photocopy the image onto a transparency, then flip the transparency over to photocopy it onto the PNP blue.

4. Place your clean metal onto the hot plate and turn it to a low setting — 350 degrees.

5. Carefully cut your image out of the PNP Blue, leaving about 1/4" to 1/2" border around it. It doesn't need to be neat or pretty, just leave enough so that you can grip the PNP Blue with tweezers and not disturb the image.

6. Place the PNP Blue, matte/toner side down, onto the metal. Use tweezers to get everything aligned.

7. Using a burnisher or the back of a spoon, rub the glossy side of the PNP Blue (figure B). This will transfer the toner onto the metal. Make sure all areas of the image are transferred, going over each area multiple times. The length of time needed to transfer the image will depend on the temperature of the hot plate. This part may take some practice because if you take it off too soon, the image won't transfer. If you leave it on too long, the lines will get smudged. You can check how well it's transferring by peeling up one corner with tweezers.

   Note: You can use your grill again for food if you clean it off real good. If you accidentally melted some of the PNP on the hot plate, you will not want to use it again for preparing food!

8. When it looks like your lines are transferred, quench the metal (with the PNP Blue still on) in water.

9. Peel off the PNP Blue (figure C). With any luck, your image has transferred to the metal.

Figure D

Etching the Metal

1. Cover any gaps in your transfer with a Sharpie marker, which acts as a mild resist. Also color the edges of your plate with the Sharpie. If you will be doing a longer etch can also use nail polish, but nail polish is harder to remove afterwards.

2. With a few strips of clear packing tape, cover the back side of the metal. This will keep any etchant from getting to the back of the piece.

3. Pour the ferric chloride into your Tupperware container, about 1/2" deep. Always wear rubber gloves and eye protection when working with ferric chloride.

4. Suspend the piece face down in the ferric chloride. This can be done either by hot gluing the metal to a piece of Styrofoam and then floating it, or by hanging it in the solution with a piece of duct tape drooped from one side to the other.

5. Check your piece periodically to see how far it has etched. The length of time depends on the age of the solution. New solution might work in as little as half an hour; older solution can take 12 hours or more.

6. When the desired amount of etch has been achieved, remove it from the etchant and wash it off. Merely running water on it is not enough to stop the etching, you'll need to rinse it in household ammonia.

7. Pour the used etchant back into the bottle (wear goggles!), remove it from the etchant and wash it off. Merely running water on it is not enough to stop the etching, you will need to rinse it in household ammonia.

8. Clean off any leftover PNP Blue reside with baking soda or a pumice cleaner.

9. To give the copper a blackened look, mix liver of sulphur (it comes in a rock form) in some hot water. Paint this onto your copper piece (figure D). This changes the chemical composition of the top layer of copper. Once you have a nice even layer, rinse it off in water and dry the excess water off.

10. Use a fine grit sandpaper and sand the piece of copper and then wipe it off.

Attaching the Copper Plate to a Box