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Etching chemicals

2000

Could someone please help me find a good cheap chemical to etch brass pieces for teflon coating. I am currently using yellow chromic acid but it's expensive and deadly.

brett

brett adams
osborne surface treatments - perth western australia

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2000

Have you tried anything else? If you just need the parts clean and a little etch you can use nitric or sulphuric acid at around 10%, plus a little surfactant. It's possible that you could also use caustic soda [affil link] to do the job, and it's a lot easier to handle. All of this depends on what the end use and product is, of course.

Jeff Watson
- Pearland, Texas

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2000

'Deadly' is putting it a bit too strongly, I think. Yes, chromic acid is toxic and carcinogenic but it does not pose any danger until one is exposed to it. Which is not to say that you should not be looking for a substitute.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey