Etching solution

Description

A typical metal plate etching solution contains strong acids. The acids corrode or dissolve the exposed parts that are not covered with the etching ground. Examples of some etching solutions are:

- Steel: 25% acid sulfuric acid.

- Brass: mixture of acid nitric and acid hydrochloric acids.

- Nickel: 45% sulfuric acid.

- Copper - acid chromic acid.

- Zinc: 5% nitric acid.

- Glass: acid hydrofluoric acid.

Synonyms and Related Terms

etchant; tzmittel (Deut.); etsmiddel (Ned.); soluo de ataque (Port.)

Hazards and Safety

Most of the etching solutions are toxic and will attack skin on contact.

Authority

• Richard S. Lewis, Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Michael McCann, Michael McCann, Artist Beware, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York City, 1979

• Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976

• Random House, Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000