I have been trying to etch a design on silver to make cuff links I am using the laser toner tranfer method my problem is I get pitting on some of the masked areas I am not sure if it is the toner not sticking to the silver properly as there is no areas not masked apart from where I want it etched ? I have tried 3 times now and it has happened each time to a different degree.
Hi Bill,
If you are getting pitting the resist is not sticking well enough
Your question will be difficult to answer more specifically until you give us more information:
What are you printing onto?
how are you preparing your silver sheet?
How are you transferring the toner onto the metal?
What etching solution are you using and at what strength? Dennis.
Hi Dennis i am printing the toner on to yellow press n peel paper then ironing this on to 1mm thick silver sheet which is cleaned with wire wool to give a key for the toner the etching solution i am using if ferric nitrate at 100g to 100ml water as per the instructions and solution is warm ? this is a set of cuff links i made as you can see i have had to sand a fair bit to even get to this stage . looking on the net i now think the paper my be my problem as i think it is a Chinese knock off of the blue press n peel paper.
Preparation of metal is best done with a Scotchbrite washing up pad and a little washing up liquid. Steel wool might be greasy, or leave minute fragments behind.
Below are PNP instruction, which I hope you can read.
Ironing it on is a new skill to learn.
The method for etching is to float the metal in the etchant upside down, once thoroughly wetted, by attaching small pieces of polystyrene foam to the reverse with double sided tape for buoyancy.
I guess I need not emphasise the need for adhesive tape on the reverse and borders and prompt removal once the etch is sufficient and the resist is still firm. Dennis
Thank you very much for your help Dennis i will follow your instructions and use the proper P N P blue paper and i did not know about floating the silver i was told to leave the tape on the back long and suspend it by that all very good advice thank you for your time in helping me .
I will keep you updated with the outcome I was talking to a friend who has a heat press so going to try the p n p on that to see if I can get the silver to a more consistent temperature and hopefully better transfer then float it in the etching solution as you advised me and see if I get a better result also going to clean the silver in acidtone just before printing the image.
While the toner transfer method CAN be made to work properly its often a hassle to get perfect and dense transfers every time. Unfortunately this can be related to multiple things like choice of papers, Which toner brand and correct pressure/heat while transfer. So its really hard to give specific advice.
I used toner transfer extensively for some time and also tried the PNP (original & knockoff) among various other papers & foils .
I can only say that in the end I had the best results using Oracal 651 plotter vinyl as a substrate and multiple passes through a laminator. This, followed by immersing the piece in icewater for a few minutes, let me peel off the vinyl with leaving the most perfect transfers from all the stuff I tried. If you use transparent or white oracal its immediately obvious if all the toner has transferred. If temp and pressure are just right ALL of the toner transfers to the metal leaving absolutely nothing behind. My printer is an old Hp laserjet 6p with original HP toner. Refill toner did not work for me. Maybe the Icewater trick will work with PNP also - never tested this though since I already worked with the oracal at the time. Also cleanliness is goodliness - If after whatever cleaning step you still see water beading up on the surface its not clean enough. Water should completly sheet over the metal without beading up or any water breaks.
To enhance adhesion and possibly close up any existing micro pinholes I carefully heat the transferred piece facedown (held with some pliers) over the kitchen hotplate (5-8cm distance) until you can see just the very faintest whisps of smoke coming from the piece. This will remelt the toner, enhance adhesion and close small pinholes. Large pinholes & defects will not be closed. Also take care not to overheat the piece because this will burn the toner making the results worse than before The objective is just to get it hot enough that the toner remelts at the surface. Its a matter of experience doing this but this additional step has helped with difficult pieces.
Well, whatever i tried I still had a failure rate of about 10%-15% of the pieces . I have now switched to using dry film photoresist for etching purpose and this has dropped my failure rate to near nil (if done correctly) . For etched base metal pieces (copper brass , german silver etc) I still use the toner transfer sometimes because its just faster - but with the prices of silver sheet I want to make sure it comes out perfectly so I go through the added hassle of using the photoresist. The benefit of the photoresist is you can use the exposure masks repeatedly if you make multiples. Pinholes have vanished completely , the rare faliures are related to adhesion problems of the film (improper cleaning of substrate & dirt trapped under the photresist film. If I take care to adhere to strict procedure and do things clean the pieces come out perfectly.
BTW : I am etching my silver electrolytically with 3% nitric solution. Ferric nitrate is hard to get here, wears out much too quickly and is expensive as well...
Thank you for your sound advice I have today been looking at a laser etching machine just waiting to hear back from the company as it only shows it used on wood leather etc so not sure it will work on metal yet .
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help with silver etching
The objective is just to get it hot enough that the toner remelts at the surface. Its a matter of experience doing this but this additional step has helped with difficult pieces.
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