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DIY Acid Wash
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2017-03-03 at 2 AM UTCI've acid-washed one of my knives in the past but it didn't turn out as well as I'd liked - I assume the acid I mixed wasn't quite potent enough, so the blade came out a bit dull. I was somewhat disappointed and hadn't tried again since.
That was up until I saw the detailed patterns you can get with PCB transfer film - examples:
so I decided to give it a try again.
First thing to do is get some transfer film - it's fairly expensive, so if you want to nigger-rig it some people have been able to use glossy photo paper. I suspect that if you go this route, you'll need to use different temperature settings when transferring the pattern to the metal.
The idea behind transfer paper is you print a design on it, then you press it face down on your metal surface (blade in this case), and use heat and pressure to transfer the ink from the paper to the metal. Then, when it's exposed to acid, the ink resists it - metal not covered by ink is corroded, metal covered by ink is left untarnished.
I didn't take photos of the transfer paper because I printed it ages ago, but the brand is Press n Peel Blue and it'll look like this once printed:
The difficult part is getting the patterns to transfer evenly - you need both heat (I found about 150 degrees celsius to be ideal) and constant, even pressure. I've tried this in the past with an iron, a vice and blowtorch, even a convection oven but never had much luck. This time around, I built the DANGERWAND.
It's basically just a hair-straightener mounted on a vice so I can use it as a heat press. Works well, but is actually pretty dangerous - I had to tape over the circuit on the top, touching it gives a very nasty shock.
I would've actually used this as the pattern, but being a total fucking mongolroy I applied the pattern upside down. Clean off the pattern with acetone, re-press, this is the result:
NOTE: I intentionally faded the pattern to the right to avoid a hard cutoff. I also used nail polish to paint parts of the blade that I didn't want to be exposed to the acid, ie. the ring around where the pivot goes, because if you corrode the parts that make contact with other components, you will fuck up the tolerances and best case, the knife will be loose and off-centre, worst case it won't open or lock up properly.
Next up is the acid dip. I used 6% sodium hydroxide and hardware-store grade hydrochloric acid in a ratio of 2.5:1 in an OAK milk bottle with the top cut off. If youre going to do this, you MUST use either a GLASS or HDPE plastic container. The acid is strong enough that it'll rapidly corrode and weaken a metal container, and most other plastics will melt in a matter of minutes. No photos, I was afraid that I'd acid-damage my phone.
Basically I mixed the acid, put a cabletie through the hole in the blade and hung it off a metal bar on the lip of the container - that way the blade was suspended in acid. It only took like 5 minutes for it to seriously corrode, then I took it out and washed it and rubbed a bit of making soda across it to ensure the acid was totally neutralised. After washing, I used a small amount of acetone to remove the nail polish and the resist pattern that I'd applied to the metal - this is the end result:
After putting it all back together:
I don't intend on doing this again anytime soon, the acid is VERY messy and releases a lot of unpleasant fumes, plus it's annoying to dispose of. Generally you've got to slowly add a base (bicarbonate/baking soda) until it's neutralised, then it's safe to flush.
PS. the knife in question is a Spyderco Manix.
----wat is going on here, formatting's messed up
Post last edited by aldra at 2017-03-03T02:02:52.624725+00:00The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2017-03-03 at 2:08 AM UTCNeat
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2017-03-03 at 2:41 AM UTCDamn, can't say I've ever had a particular desire to own a knife with a pattern on it but this thing:
and the results are impressive. Does the acid not damage the blade as well, or did you need to sharpen it afterwards? -
2017-03-03 at 2:44 AM UTCyeah, some people use nail polish to protect the edge but it usually results in a weird, uneven line between the corroded and clean metal. I'll need to resharpen it properly, shouldn't take more than 15 minutes or so.
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2017-03-04 at 12:23 AM UTCthat makes sense. I should do a niggas in space knife i got lots of old ones laying around. How much did this cost you??
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2018-05-18 at 7:08 AM UTC
Originally posted by The Self Taught Man How much did this cost you??
hair straightener was around $20, chemicals probably about the same, PNP is expensive at $25 or so for around 20 sheets. Vice I can't remember, have had it for a long time.
ANYWAY. I found some printed PNP sheets that I'd made for this project, and it occurred to me that the same principle could probably be used as a resist mask for my titanium anodizing project. Alas the DANGERWAND is broken as fuck and missing parts, so I'll need to rebuild it, ideally to last this time. I'll post pictures when I'm done, probably. -
2018-05-18 at 8:13 AM UTCHello fellow Golden inhabitant. It looks too extreme to me. My Damascus high carbon steel knife changes color with just lemon juice.
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2018-05-18 at 8:54 AM UTCGolden?
Yeah the acid is harsh as fuck and a bitch to deal with. Speaking of, I need to extend some wires in this thing and I don't know wtf they used as solder but I had to crank the iron to 380 to get the contact points to budge, and once they did the shit sticks like glue so the sucker leaves gobs on there -
2018-05-18 at 10:04 AM UTCPretty fucking cool, man.
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2018-05-18 at 10:48 AM UTCglass craft is in Golden Co.,, I gave them a ton of money back in my glass pipe days
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2018-05-18 at 11:02 AM UTCpics of the bodies buried in the crawl space or it didn’t happen.....
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2018-05-18 at 11:11 AM UTCNice thread.
Good info +1 -
2018-05-18 at 11:15 AM UTC
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2018-05-18 at 12:56 PM UTC
IT'S ALIVE!
Almost. About to plug it in...
WILL IT HIT ME WITH 240VAC AGAIN?
WILL IT TRIP THE BREAKER?
WILL IT START A FIRE?
I'M GOING TO FIND OUT -
2018-05-18 at 12:59 PM UTCWORKS.
unfortunately I spilled some paint thinner though so now my work area smells like a welfare officeThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2018-05-18 at 1:13 PM UTC
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2018-05-18 at 1:23 PM UTCThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
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2018-05-18 at 1:24 PM UTC
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2018-05-18 at 1:26 PM UTCyeah maybe afterwards I'll shit on my desk
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2018-05-18 at 2:18 PM UTC
Originally posted by aldra yeah maybe afterwards I'll shit on my desk
that'll get rid of the smell of paint thinner but then youll have to deal with the flies.
fun fact: i was painting with a xylene-based paint one time. i didnt have time to finish so in my infinite wisdom wrapped the roller in a plastic wal-mart bag, which i wrapped several times with saran-wrap, which i sealed into a 2-gallon ziploc back then stuck it in the back of my refrigerator for a few days until i was able to continue painting.
fast forward a few days later and literally everything in my refrigerator and freezer...including food in sealed containers and the milk...tasted like xylene. i had cadbury-cream-eggs in a sealed package that were individually wrapped in foil and they tasted like xylene.
that shit is evil.
