I like to call my tutorial "A Comprehensive Guide to the Art of Metal Etching" and that is just what it is...an in-depth look at metal etching written especially for the beginner metal artist but will be of interest to anyone with more experience. It is 40 pages long which includes many photos of the process in action. Discussed are the different processes of etching on copper, brass, bronze and nickel silver, sterling silver and fine silver. There are 3 pages of copyright free designs at the end of the tutorial. These may be used to jump-start your etching if you so desire. In this tutorial you will not use salt water or a water bath with electricity coursing through it. The chemicals used are Ferric Chloride (a salt used for copper, brass, bronze, and nickel silver)and Ferric Nitrate (which is considered an acid used for etching sterling silver and fine silver). I am stating this now in case you are concerned about using these chemicals. Always respect your chemicals and dispose of them properly. Properly used, they will give you excellent results in your metal etching endeavors. If in doubt, check the MSDS sheet for these products. There is an in-depth look at using PnP Blue as a resist. I have also included addendums or 'mini-tutorials' : These include "Yes! You Can Etch on Both Sides", and "Let's Make Bead Caps" which will be of particular interest to lampwork bead artists. Included in the "Bead Cap" mini-tut is a discussion on the use of a photo/art program to design your own custom bead caps. (I use Adobe Photoshop Elements 8). There is also a little section on making your own dapping tool...cheap, cheap, cheap After using this tutorial you should be able to etch on any copper, brass, bronze, nickel silver or sterling silver and fine silver from a tiny bead cap to a jewelry sized piece to a plaque, album cover, electric switch plates or almost anything within your imagination...with reason of course! Your etching endeavors will always be supported after purchase. I am available by email and will be happy to answer any questions or help you through any problems that you may encounter. This is a digital .pdf file and will be downloadable upon payment. No hard copy be will sent. As always, this is copyrighted material and took me many hours to compile. I appreciate your not sharing the tutorial with anyone. Design pages at the end of the tutorial are copyright free designs and may be shared. Thank you for your purchase.
