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Alright guys I've been doing some expeirmenting and I have some information for you all. A lot of it is for poor broke asses. Also, for those of you who are on the fence about dumping a good chunk of change into all of the necessary components to achieve decent results.
I have found out that you can use Photo inkjet printer paper to print on and to use as your resist, if you can't find press'n'peel for an affordable price, or if you think it's a bit too much for you when you're just playing around, then you can purchase yourself a pack of photopaper from staples or office max. Basic gloss works best. You'll want to print your design in the same fasion as the transfer papers and films, you'll want to print on the glossy side.
Once you do that, and then iron it onto your brass or copper piece, then you'll want to let the metal cool down, now you'll want to soak it in warm water to remove the paper. You can usually peel the paper off after a few minutes of submerssion. You can lightly scrape it off with your fingers, you just don't want to go extremely hard just so you don't scrape the toner off. It usually stays on pretty good, but if you're using something abrasive to remove the paper, then you'll likely end up damaging your design. After the paper is off, you can dry the part and then put it in your echant.
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There's also an alternative etchent to the ferric chloride - you can mix white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide together to make an alternative etchant, you can also add salt to it to accelerate the process of etching. You'll want to use a 2 to 1 ratio when you mix the vinegar and peroxide. 2 peroxide to 1 equal parts vinegar and the salt really varies, depending on how much solution you're making. Usually a teaspoon to a tablespoon is sufficient. - this will create the exact same reaction as the ferric chloride. You can etch copper and I am pretty certain brass as well.
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This isn't all much different from my PCB etching days. I just never really thought about doing designs haha. I am liking the newest stuff posted above, that cover is amazing as hell! I love how deep it looks and extremely detailed. The biggest issue I've run into is actually cutting the pieces of brass to the desired shapes. tin snips tend to want to bend the piece a bit and it's not all too accurate or precise when trying to do a curve or bend. Dremel cuttoff disks just eat away real fast too. Sucks living in this shit ass apartment - I wish I had my garage from my last place, fabrication would be so much easier than it is now.
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