ETCHING METAL - Making Your GhostGun Pretty

Written by Ernest Hancock Date: 06-30-2015 Subject: Gun Rights

Etching/Stencil and Anodizing links

ETCHING METAL

How to Photo Etch Your Own Stencils
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trjbWp3Ts6g
Now this is the way to go. Minimal up-front investment to create quality, re-usable stencils for electro-etching metal. It's actually screen-printing your etchings. The video production could be better, but the information and instruction the guy provides is great. The real take-away is the Martronics stencil products list. With Martronics products you can create your own mini-screens for etching on metal. The only Martronics products you'd really need to buy are the Unexposed Dura-film Stencils and the Stencil Developer. You can get Inkjet or Laser Printable Transparencies for your masters at most any office supply or online. You print your positive image on the transparency, use that to create a negative image stencil with which to etch a positive image into your metal item. Just like making a T-Shirt!

How to Electro Etch a Knife
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIPYvfIQ8ug
What to do once you have your stencil. You can use anything from a 9 volt battery to an old Wall Wart as a power supply. Needless to say, this process will work on other metal items besides knives ;-)

ANODIZING

Tom Griffin's deluxe anodizing system and demonstration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtYHcsq7s5A
     Baytec Container for flip-lid buckets. (actually this is a great source for any kind of container)
     The solution (#1a. below) is caustic (sodium hydroxide - Rooto household lye), but like the acid is easily neutralized.
     The nickel acetate sealer (from E-Bay) is the only other hazardous material because of it's nickel content.
     Caswell plating sales sells smaller quantities, but the price difference wasn't that great.

How to Anodize Aluminum by Caswell Plating
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr-zd6StOOw
Tanks required:

1. The De-Greaser tank     (detergent or Purple Power™ for 5 minutes @ 145°)
1a.) Etch part at room temp. in sodium hydroxide solution (Rooto Household lye, 1 oz per gal DiH2O) for a matte finish and to reduce visible machine marks.
2. The De-Oxidizer De-Smut tank in 10% Tetraflora PH Down (nitric acid)/DiH2O solution
3. The Anodizing tank     (@72° - 1.5 qts battery acid to 3 gallons DiH2O with cathode (-) and part/anode (+) connected to 12v power supply @ 3.5a for 1hr 15 min)
4. The Dye tank     (145°)
5. The Sealant tank     (165°)          (nickel acetate solution)

Other coatings (paint, powder coat, etc) can be substituted for #s 4. and 5.

The anodizing tank needs a constant current power supply. To anodize aluminum you need:

1 amp of power for every 50 square inches of surface area for 240 minutes, or

1 amp of power for every 25 square inches of surface area for 120 minutes.

Both will grow a .001" film which is adequate for the purpose.

AR lower = approx. 81 sq in surface area

81/50 = 1.62 (hail fibonacci!)
1.62 X 240 = 388.8 amp minutes
388.8/3.5a = 111 minutes in anodize tank

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Other Sources for Stencils
http://www.erniesknives.com/knifemaker_stencil.html
and a sample of such a stencil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2Hdqqb9d_k
http://www.lettersunlimited.com/

A nice How-to about Electro Etching using a laser printed stencil.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIPYvfIQ8ug
I've tried this on some scrap metal but had very poor results getting the toner/stencil to transfer to the metal

Vader Spade's Guide to finishing your 80% lower from ar15.com
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_4/484783_Vader_Spade_s_80__AR_15_build___Milling__Etching__and_Anodizing.html&page=1
A nice post from AR15. com about finishing your lower with an end mill (sigh!) and then anodizing it.

The Easy Button - http://vadertactical.com/
For those who have more money than time to customize their lower.

Attachments area

Preview YouTube video How to... Knife logo etch... Creating the stencil