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Find out how to achieve the incredible
patina on this book cover in our new booklet Coloring Base Metals: A
Practical Guide by Christine Cox.
Centuries ago there
lived — "A king!" my little
readers will say immediately.
--
From The Adventures of Pinocchio by C. Collodi
Alas, there are no kings,
queens or royalty of any stripe in ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’. Having been
brought up on the Walt Disney adaptation of ‘Pinocchio’ – the feel-good 1940
animated movie – I was surprised and delighted while paginating (preparing the
text-flow for printing) the original, non-Disney, translated-from-the-Italian
version. This depiction is much darker: think ‘Grimm’s Fairy Tales.’ I wanted to
make an edition of ‘Pinocchio’ that would do justice to the noir flavor of the
story.
The image of Pinocchio on
the front of the book pictured was etched into copper. Etching is an easy
process that fits with most art styles and is very easy on the pocketbook too,
as no special equipment is necessary. Of course, after you’ve got your feet wet
and have decided to etch more often you may want to buy a special etching tank,
but it’s not required.
The etchant (ferric chloride)
has some serious day jobs. It’s used for things like clumping bacteria for water
filtering and for etching copper circuit boards. It’s that second application
that has metalsmiths excited. Ferric chloride is an acidic salt that is diluted
with water for etching any metal alloy that has a certain level of copper. You
can buy it pre-diluted at well-stocked computer houses or from Radio Shack
(where it tends to be much more expensive).
Step by Step
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The first step in etching
is to get an image onto the clean and fingerprint-free metal. This image will
act as a resist to the etchant so that whatever metal is covered by the image
will not be etched. Wherever there is no resist will be eaten away by the
etchant. The simplest way to get an etchant-proof image onto the metal is to
rubberstamp it using solvent ink, such as StazOn. Just stamp normally as if
the metal was a slick piece of paper.
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If you don’t have a stamp
of the image you want to use, fear not, you can photocopy or print the image
onto any brand of acetate. The copy must be toner and you’ll need to reverse
it if the direction is important. You will then iron the toner from the
acetate onto the metal
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To iron the image onto the
metal you’ll need a very hot iron. Lay the metal down on a heatproof surface
(I use a stack of scratch paper), and then place the image where you want it
on the metal; toner-side down. Place a piece of clean paper on top of the
stack and then iron – without moving the image even a tiny bit – for 1-1/2 to
3 minutes, depending on your iron. Once the appropriate time has passed (this
takes some experimenting), remove the top piece of paper and steadily and
without jerking or hesitating, pull the acetate off the metal. Be careful!
That metal will be hot, hot, hot. Dump the metal into a dish of cold water and
then dry it.
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If the image isn’t the
quality that you’d like, you can either sand it off and start over with a new
piece of acetate or you can touch up the image using a solvent pen, such as a
Sharpie.
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Now that your image is
perfect, protect the edges of the metal from the etchant by running a solvent
pen around all sides. Protect the back of the metal using a piece of contact
paper, boned down well. Nothing that you don’t want etched should be exposed
when you put the metal into the etchant.
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To etch the metal in a
dish, pour enough etchant into the dish to cover the metal piece completely.
Lay the metal – face up – into the ferric chloride. Some people make a little
“hammock” out of masking tape to make removal of the piece from the dish a
less messy job. Because the etchant is not aerated the copper residue formed
by the etching process floats around and settles onto the top of the piece. In
effect, the copper becomes its own resist as it disintegrates.
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This layer of copper scum
on top of your image slows the whole process down (which is why an aerated
tank is better – it keeps the copper residues from resting on the piece of
metal) so occasionally you’ll need to remove the metal from the dish and
carefully rinse off the etchant and bits of copper from it. Do not touch or
remove any of the resist or the metal underneath will begin to etch away when
you return it to the etchant. Depending on the desired depth of your etch, the
freshness of your etchant and the gauge and copper content of the metal you
started with, etching in a dish can take from 2 to 6 hours, or even longer.
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Once the image is deeply
etched (you should be able to feel it very distinctly by running your finger
over the image) remove it from the etchant and neutralize the acid by washing
the piece in soap and water or by rubbing it with a paste made from baking
soda and water and then rinsing it thoroughly.
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Remove the black toner
resist from the image either with sandpaper or sanding and polishing papers
(400 or 600 grit). This moment is magic! Your image should be deep and
beautiful and wherever the toner resist was should be as bright and shiny as
the metal you started with.
Issue # 15
Christine Cox is a regular
contributor to ARTitude Zine. This article originally appeared in her column, 'The
MetalChick'
and is reprinted here with permission. For more fantastic articles
about art and collage be sure to subscribe to ARTitude Zine.
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Etched Metal: Pinocchio!
April 2005
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Notes from the field:
As chemicals go, ferric
chloride is relatively benign. Follow a few simple precautions (on the bottle)
and you’ll be safe. Wear gloves!
I only etch in an aerated
etching tank. It takes so much less time and doesn’t require the periodic rinses
to get rid of the copper residue on the surface.
An upside-down 16” X 20”
clear plastic box picture frame (available at Michael’s and other art and
framing stores) is a great tray for holding your etching tank. It’s large enough
to catch the drips and it isn’t eaten away by the etchant, as a metal cookie sheet
would be.
If the etchant gets on your
clothes it will permanently stain them, and will stain anything that is washed
with them. Just ask my husband about wearing yellow socks.
You absolutely must not dump
the etchant down the drain. In our county we are able to take it to the dump on
special ‘household waste’ days. Check with your city or county to see how best
to dispose of it in your area. Before discarding the solution it should be
neutralized by slowly adding baking soda until it quits bubbling. It should then
be stored in a plastic jug with a loosened lid (to allow for expansion) until it
can be taken to the dump or otherwise safely discarded.
Baking soda will neutralize the etchant for safe
disposal
Keep adding baking soda until the bubbling subsides
Volcano Arts sells the following for this
project:
I also recommend my 'Etched
Metal: How-To and Idea Booklet'
Close-up view of the etched Pinocchio figure
For the edition of “The
Adventures of Pinocchio” pictured, I used a 2-part epoxy (horrors!) to glue my
copper Pinocchio image to a piece of record album that I had cut to the same
shape but slightly larger. I like using pieces of albums behind images so that
they ‘pop’ when placed against a busy background. A jeweler’s saw cuts through
the vinyl “like butter” and it’s easy to file. The same 2-part epoxy can be used
to glue the whole unit to another piece of metal that you’ve previously
patinated and sealed. I’ll be writing more about patinas in a future article.
There is so much room for
experimentation and creativity with etching. My Pinocchio could have been
larger or smaller or riveted directly to the cover. A different patina would
give a completely different feel to the covers and different sealers give very
different results (I used polyurethane on this project). The leather, eyelet and
thread colors have a big effect on the finished look.
Experiment, have fun, but
above all please use the etchant safely.
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