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Letter 14075 Etching silver [Isle of Wight]++ I was wondering if anyone knew how to make the solution needed for etching sterling silver. I need the chemical formula. Thank you, Kate Hardy
++ 4 g potassium iodide This is not too harmful a solution but stains skin purple so wear gloves. Also try I have read about this as a silver etch but not tried it so can't comment on how good it is. I imagine it would be more irritant/corrosive than the iodine based one. Best wishes,
+++ The following solution etches silver well; The solution should be made up fresh before etching and will gradually become less and less active over a few days.
+++ Delighted to see the ingredients for silver etching. What are the concentrations? I have a source although no idea what to ask for. Help on this please? Thank you. Gregory Mooney
+++ The concentration of the hydrogen peroxide solution is something like 30% in water. The ammonium hydroxide can be a similar concentration. You can also dilute the etch with more water if the etch rate is too fast (e.g. in thin film etching). Another etching solution for silver is Iron(III)nitrate in water, heated to about 40 degrees centigrade. The initial recipe I read quoted a saturated solution. I tried something like about 20 g in 100 ml, which is fairly dilute compared to this, and it etched the silver well.
+++++ You could try a photolithography technique. You use a light sensitive polymer called photoresist to cover your silverware (I think you can get a sprayable version) - you have to do this in a photographic room with special light. You then need a photomask, which could be either a clear acetate or a sheet of glass with the desired pattern that you require (you have regions where UV light can get through and regions where it can't). Place the photomask over the photoresist and expose to UV light. Develop the photoresist in a similar way to photographic film and you are left with patterned photoresist with exposed metal regions. You can then use the etching solution to etch the exposed metal (the photoresist will act as a barrier where you don't want etching). Rinse with water when done and then remove the photoresist with Acetone [link is to product info at Rockler] (nail polish remover).
January 26, 2006 This seems to be a good site, nice folks helping each other. I am
a retired professor (Ph.D. Economics) and want to start etching. I
will start with a small photograph, make a stencil, stencil onto a
small square silver rectangle (12 square inches), then etch it with a
solution. After etching, I will buff it on a grinder for an antique
look and then maybe apply a
Liver Of Sulphur
April 27, 2006 I would suggest that you could scan your photograph digitally and change its colour resolution to straight black and white (2 colours). Then print the image onto a transparency with an inkjet or laser printer. Then cover your rectangle of silver with a photoresist polymer, e.g. Shipley S1813 - this can be done by spin coating it (silver rectangle held on a rotating chuck and prior to spinning, the photoresist is spread on) - or it could be sprayed on with a sprayable version (you have to do this in a dark room, or a room where UV has been filtered out). Still in the darkroom, you then place your printed transparency over the photoresist and expose to UV light (light passes through the clear regions and exposes the photoresist). Develop the photoresist (just like photography) and you then have regions of exposed silver and regions of silver covered with photoresist. Dip the plate in a silver etching solution and leave to etch. After etching remove the photoresist with acetone. This might be easier to do than the technique you mention.
June 16, 2006 I have a question about the silver etching solution recommended:
40 ml methanol, 10 ml hydrogen peroxide, 10 ml ammonium hydroxide. I
was glad to read the post inquiring about the concentrations of
hydrogen peroxide and ammonium hydroxide since I was wondering about
those too. I found a few scientific chemical suppliers in the Los
Angeles metropolitan area, one of which offers the following: Wendy Sumire Talaro
July 1, 2006 Hi,
July 17, 2006 Nice to hear about the use of the electro technique, which I had read a little about in a good reference book I have seen. I have only ever been concerned with etching very thin films that are typically less than 200 nm. Using an iron (III) nitrate solution gave the best resolution with a photoresist when etching features that consisted of 5 micron wide tracks. This was with Shipley S1813 resist that was spin coated on silicon wafers. The methanol, ammonia, hydrogen peroxide would undercut features of this width but worked well if the features were larger. In response to the question regarding the appropriate methanol solution to use, I think any of the first 4 would be okay. It is just basically methyl alcohol that I used - nothing special about it in terms of purity - anhydrous isn't important either as the ammonia and hydrogen peroxide solutions have water in them anyway. The fifth solution you listed is 50% methanol and 50% water and this may not work as well as it would only contain half the amount of methanol in the recipe - you could maybe add double the amount and then have a solution that is diluted more with water.
August 10, 2006 Hello Benny Ed. note: full name please, Benny.
August 26, 2006 I've been trying PCB Etchant Solution from RadioShack. Contents; Ferric Chloride. Intended for copper etching on PC boards. The bottle recommends 20 minutes in the liquid but it seems to take much longer for silver etching. Works beautifully on copper. Keep separate baths for copper and silver as copper may be deposited onto your silver. Lisa Ciolli
August 30, 2006 Lisa, Ferric Chloride is the standard etchant for copper in PCB's and big manufacturers use tanks full of the liquid for the purpose. I'm guessing that in the case of silver, there will be a displacement going on between the iron and the silver such that silver will be dissolving to produce silver chloride with iron falling out of the solution to accommodate it. There is probably a link with their respective positions in the electrochemical series.
November 2, 2006 What kind of mask you use when etching..where you don't want silver to by etched. I tried nail polish which worked but not very nice outcome, I tried sharpie too. What is the regular or best thing to use. Rosy Arrasco
Mike Karliner: I had never thought of electro stripping instead of
acid etching. Could you please advise me on the mordant you use? Also
could you share with us the optimum temperature range you have used
in the past? I would also like to see one of your pieces where you
have used this process. Could you post a pic? Many thanks, Thomas Hanson
Etching on Sterling silver Hi, Cindy Lee
July 16, 2007 Thanks to all for the illuminating comments and formulas for
etching silver. I've been using the steampunk workshop's techniques
for electrochemical etching of brass, and the results using
"Press'n'Peel Blue" film have been quite nice. Mike Andrews
I have been etching copper for a while now, (using ferric chloride
which is very messy!) usually so that it etches all the way through.
I'm now wishing to do the same with silver, is there any way which
speeds up the process and how do I dispose of the solution after use?
I'm trying to find ways that I can do everything at home rather than
using a print studio. I have already had success with press-n-peel
transfers. Joanne Scholar
January 11, 2008 You can etch sterling silver using Ferric Nitrate. Dissolve ferric
Nitrate crystals in distilled water (300 mg of Ferric Nitrate to 400
ml water). Suspend the sterling to be etch upside down in the
solution and leave for anywhere from 2 - 5 hours. I tape the metal to
a piece of styrofoam and float it upside down in the solution. If you
can vibrate the solution, the etching is speeded up (I use a bubbler
for a fish aquarium under the plastic container holding the ferric
solution Sandra Noble Goss Ed. note: as of the date of posting, the URL for these teaching notes is makersgallery.com/goss/etch.html     
February 20, 2008 Hi there, Gemma Baker
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