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Do you like to make shit yourself? Well shut the fuck up and make some cool brass shit!
It's not hard to do, but it's hard to get perfect. I haven't been going for perfect yet so it's been great for me. Everything I've used the technique for has been fine to have a "patina'd" look. Although, the dash inserts for the Legion Special came out very nice.
This piece is a head tube badge for my new Sporty and is intended to help get the name of my buddy's bike building shop, C-51 customs out to the world (http://www.c-51customs.com/)
OK, on with the tech...
Supplies:
-Brass or copper sheet (I used .032 I think)
-Press-n-Peel Printed Circuit Board Transfer Film (PnP Blue. Available at techniks.com)
-PCB Etchant (available at Radio Shack or Fry's)
-Flat-bottom plastic dish
-Copier
-Block of wood
-NAMBLA membership card
-Clothes iron
-Scotch tape
-Packing tape
-Condoms
-Spray paint (from the auto paint supply, not cheap spray paint)
-Sand paper (320, 500, 800, 1000, higher)
-Metal polish
-Paint polish
The etchant - Radio Shack's version and Fry's version. Either will work fine.
The PnP Blue...
1. Design your tag. I have been on the Mac for 21 years, so that's where I did this one. If you are going for an older look, keep it simple. I like to mark the holes to be drilled with center dots.
When you're happy with your design you need to print it out in reverse and in negative. It needs to be stark black and white - no grays.
2. Put your PnP Blue into the copier and copy your design onto the matte side. Try to get the black as dense and rich as possible.
*Helper is optional
3. Cut out one image and set it aside.
4. Cut your piece of copper or brass slightly larger than the desired final size. You need the extra metal to tape the PnP Blue onto and that way you can trim up to the design for a nice edge. Otherwise the etchant will eat away at what you want to be your "finished" edge. The better the quality of the brass the better the finished piece. This is cheap stuff from Ace Hardware and it ends up with a mottled coloring when finished. I'm OK with that for this piece.
5. Scuff the metal with steel wool to smooth it out and to give the metal some "tooth". Rinse it off with brake clean, then wash it with soap and water to get your grimy fingerprints off of it. That means don't touch the flat surface again, dummy!
6. Now, tape the PnP Blue design-side down so that it can't slide around on the surface. Make sure it does not have any wrinkles or kinks. Sometimes for this step I pre-heat the brass a little so that the PnP will kind of stick as I lay it down.
7. Lay the metal with the PnP Blue facing up on a burn-proof countertop or piece of flat wood. The plate needs to be flat while you iron. I put a paper towel under it. Then lay a doubled-over paper towel over it to keep the iron from touching it directly because it can melt and scratch the PnP with direct contact.
8. Set the iron to the highest setting and iron with medium pressure for 3-4 minutes. The idea is to get the plate hot while applying pressure, incase you couldn't figure that out. For this particular tag I used a twisting motion to keep the pressure and heat even.
9. When you are done ironing, the design will show up much better than it did before. See how the image is nearly black? That's what you want.
10. IMPORTANT: Let the metal cool completely before peeling off the PnP Blue. If you do it too soon, it will not leave the resist image. You can cool it with water on the back. Just be sure not to get any on the design side because it can wash off. Peel slowly and evenly.
11. There will likely be pinholes in the design. This is easily fixed with a nice Sharpie. Yes, that means that you could draw a design with a Sharpie and do this same technique. The Sharpie is not as resistant to the etchant as the PnP, but it works pretty well.
It's not hard to do, but it's hard to get perfect. I haven't been going for perfect yet so it's been great for me. Everything I've used the technique for has been fine to have a "patina'd" look. Although, the dash inserts for the Legion Special came out very nice.
This piece is a head tube badge for my new Sporty and is intended to help get the name of my buddy's bike building shop, C-51 customs out to the world (http://www.c-51customs.com/)
OK, on with the tech...
Supplies:
-Brass or copper sheet (I used .032 I think)
-Press-n-Peel Printed Circuit Board Transfer Film (PnP Blue. Available at techniks.com)
-PCB Etchant (available at Radio Shack or Fry's)
-Flat-bottom plastic dish
-Copier
-Block of wood
-NAMBLA membership card
-Clothes iron
-Scotch tape
-Packing tape
-Condoms
-Spray paint (from the auto paint supply, not cheap spray paint)
-Sand paper (320, 500, 800, 1000, higher)
-Metal polish
-Paint polish
The etchant - Radio Shack's version and Fry's version. Either will work fine.
The PnP Blue...
1. Design your tag. I have been on the Mac for 21 years, so that's where I did this one. If you are going for an older look, keep it simple. I like to mark the holes to be drilled with center dots.
When you're happy with your design you need to print it out in reverse and in negative. It needs to be stark black and white - no grays.
2. Put your PnP Blue into the copier and copy your design onto the matte side. Try to get the black as dense and rich as possible.
*Helper is optional
3. Cut out one image and set it aside.
4. Cut your piece of copper or brass slightly larger than the desired final size. You need the extra metal to tape the PnP Blue onto and that way you can trim up to the design for a nice edge. Otherwise the etchant will eat away at what you want to be your "finished" edge. The better the quality of the brass the better the finished piece. This is cheap stuff from Ace Hardware and it ends up with a mottled coloring when finished. I'm OK with that for this piece.
5. Scuff the metal with steel wool to smooth it out and to give the metal some "tooth". Rinse it off with brake clean, then wash it with soap and water to get your grimy fingerprints off of it. That means don't touch the flat surface again, dummy!
6. Now, tape the PnP Blue design-side down so that it can't slide around on the surface. Make sure it does not have any wrinkles or kinks. Sometimes for this step I pre-heat the brass a little so that the PnP will kind of stick as I lay it down.
7. Lay the metal with the PnP Blue facing up on a burn-proof countertop or piece of flat wood. The plate needs to be flat while you iron. I put a paper towel under it. Then lay a doubled-over paper towel over it to keep the iron from touching it directly because it can melt and scratch the PnP with direct contact.
8. Set the iron to the highest setting and iron with medium pressure for 3-4 minutes. The idea is to get the plate hot while applying pressure, incase you couldn't figure that out. For this particular tag I used a twisting motion to keep the pressure and heat even.
9. When you are done ironing, the design will show up much better than it did before. See how the image is nearly black? That's what you want.
10. IMPORTANT: Let the metal cool completely before peeling off the PnP Blue. If you do it too soon, it will not leave the resist image. You can cool it with water on the back. Just be sure not to get any on the design side because it can wash off. Peel slowly and evenly.
11. There will likely be pinholes in the design. This is easily fixed with a nice Sharpie. Yes, that means that you could draw a design with a Sharpie and do this same technique. The Sharpie is not as resistant to the etchant as the PnP, but it works pretty well.
Fantastic write up too.
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