☢☢CUSTOM ACID BATH ETCHED EURO PANELS - FINALLY UP!!!☢☢

justscratch · Post by **justscratch** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 6:15 pm

yeah i'm definitely in to these.. like the pre-acid look as well

neil_kerr · Post by **neil_kerr** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 6:31 pm

Aye, I am going to test out a number of different techniques, using different materials, inks etc... to get a variety of options.

The plan will be to offer them in limited editions of, I dunno...25 or so per run and then within that, they will all be slightly different, given the handmade nature of this method of working.

Jalopy · Post by **Jalopy** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 1:03 am

neil_kerr wrote:...25 or so per run

So just stare at this thread if I'm wanting?

Also I think you mentioned 12HP but what different sizes are you thinking?

lambwolf · Post by **lambwolf** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 1:34 am

neil_kerr wrote:
The thing that initially stopped me was that I use water-based, non toxic inks and, although, I regularly screenprint onto metals I wasn't sure how it would hold up to wear and tear.

Try a 2 part epoxy ink and you won't have to vanish.

neil_kerr · Post by **neil_kerr** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 7:36 am

Jalopy wrote:
neil_kerr wrote:...25 or so per run
So just stare at this thread if I'm wanting?

Also I think you mentioned 12HP but what different sizes are you thinking?

I haven't a clue what the demand will be so I can't make a decision on the numbers of each panel just yet but there will be 4hp, 6hp, 8hp, 10hp, 12hp, 14hp and 16hp panels created. Anything larger than that will probably be bespoke one-off panels created at people's request.

neil_kerr · Post by **neil_kerr** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 7:37 am

lambwolf wrote:
neil_kerr wrote:
The thing that initially stopped me was that I use water-based, non toxic inks and, although, I regularly screenprint onto metals I wasn't sure how it would hold up to wear and tear.
Try a 2 part epoxy ink and you won't have to vanish.

The etching inks give a really nice, aged finish when rubbed back a little and I can rub in different colours to have subtle blends etc...I don't mind having to varnish them but thanks.

The Illuminaire · Post by **The Illuminaire** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:11 am

neil_kerr wrote:
The Illuminaire wrote:Love it, mate!

I would be very interested in having you do two 126HP panels to marry my "here to stay" modules and whilst aligning them aesthetically.

Can't wait to see more!
I wasn't quite expecting anyone to ask for 126hp panels but yeah, it's totally achievable. The postage from Ireland to the US might be a little high though.

The other option, to keep postage lower, would be to have a series of large panels that make up the full 126hp, say three 42hp panels with the image spread across all three for continuity. That would be entirely up to you though as, like I said, 126hp is grand.

When the work goes up next week you can let me know if it's in keeping with your system aesthetic or ask me to work of an existing image of yours.

Ta'

I mean, we can also do individual panels for each module so long as we were able to have an illustration play throughout each of the module panels on the 126HP rows.

I'll be PMing you about this a little bit later today.

P.S.
The kanji/Japanese astronomy acid bath panel is utterly righteous.

kwil · Post by **kwil** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 12:53 pm

These look cool. I'm not sure if it's intentional, but the kanji is horizontally reversed?

nickbaba · Post by **nickbaba** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 2:25 pm

These are looking gorgeous!

Can't wait. And they don't even make weird sounds.

neil_kerr · Post by **neil_kerr** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 7:04 pm

kwil wrote:These look cool. I'm not sure if it's intentional, but the kanji is horizontally reversed?

Yeah, I realised that today when printing, forgot to flip the image for etching purposes. Doh!!

neil_kerr · Post by **neil_kerr** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 7:05 pm

nickbaba wrote:These are looking gorgeous!

Can't wait. And they don't even make weird sounds.

Cheers!

Am sure you could make weird sounds with them if you scrape them against a chalkboard or against an angry leprechaun

neil_kerr · Post by **neil_kerr** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 7:07 pm

The Illuminaire wrote: I mean, we can also do individual panels for each module so long as we were able to have an illustration play throughout each of the module panels on the 126HP rows.

I'll be PMing you about this a little bit later today.

P.S.
The kanji/Japanese astronomy acid bath panel is utterly righteous.

No worries, shoot me a pm and we can discuss imagery etc...

ta'

neil_kerr · Post by **neil_kerr** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 7:22 pm

So here is the globe plate pretty much finished, aside from the varnishing. The panel was dipped/bathed/drowned in about 10 different chemical solutions to try to get the bloody etch-resist off. Was so hard to get it off and my hands are now horribly dry and itchy thanks to the irritants in the chemicals. Definitely need to buy more gloves!

This was the first test and I will be doing further tests in order to create both cleaner and dirtier panels. The finishes will vary but I want them to be controlled variations (within reason.)

Anyway, this is how it looks with the etch and no ink. You can see that the panel has an aged look due to the deep (long) etch in the acid. The difficulty in removing the etch-resist caused some added texture, as seen in the bottom right of the panel, the ink covers this and the texture kind of adds nicely to the finished look.

This is the panel inked up with the oil based printing ink. It is really concentrated and gloopy and makes an absolute mess.

Below is the panel after having removed most of the ink, it is a pretty slow process as the ink is so thick and sticky. I could continue to rub at the plate to remove more ink but I don't want to risk removing it from the etched area and I quite like the aged look. I will be making other panels where I remove more ink, use different colours, leave them with no ink etc....for more variation.

Christopher W. · Post by **Christopher W.** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 7:44 pm

That's gorgeous.

I wonder if the same technique would work as well as a guitar pickguard?

bobbcorr · Post by **bobbcorr** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 8:00 pm

Tell you what. . .I am a fan of the blue-ish background like you showed the other day.

huffnPuff · Post by **huffnPuff** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 8:40 pm

I like the final version better. Copper could also be cool, assuming it can be etched?

reppiks · Post by **reppiks** » Wed Jul 06, 2016 8:45 pm

wow!!!

neil_kerr · Post by **neil_kerr** » Thu Jul 07, 2016 6:34 am

Christopher Winkels wrote:That's gorgeous.

I wonder if the same technique would work as well as a guitar pickguard?

If you can get the metal cut to the correct size and shape then not a problem

neil_kerr · Post by **neil_kerr** » Thu Jul 07, 2016 6:43 am

I like both the pre and post etch though the post etch with no emulsion would suit my set-up best.

Will be doing some copper panels though as a metal it is much more expensive than aluminum and so the copper plates will be smaller in number and higher in price unfortunately.

Also planning on doing some panels on brass and steel.

Am still struggling to find a chemical that will take off the emulsion easily, going to try acetone today. Once I have sorted that and bought a drill for the holes, I will be able to make a dozen 4hp, 6hp and 8hp panels which will go up for sale next week.

Here are the second and third 12hp panel tests alongside the first panel which had been stripped of emulsion at this stage. Did these yesterday before I remembered that I have to flip the image and so the Kanji is still backwards.

golana · Post by **golana** » Thu Jul 07, 2016 8:06 am

Hei fellow etcher

I don't plan on stealing any of your potential clients, but I felt like sharing etching experiments.
I made a thread in the DIY section since etching is not only for eurorack

viewtopic.php?t=164465

southphillysynths · Post by **southphillysynths** » Thu Jul 07, 2016 8:36 am

These are absolutely beautiful! I will stick around to see what else you come up with. Would love some brass etchings, Might need a bigger case just to keep them installed!

neil_kerr · Post by **neil_kerr** » Thu Jul 07, 2016 9:17 am

golana wrote:Hei fellow etcher

Hey!! Nice work! Cool to see some more etching in a music context.

I'm just glad to get back to the etching, so busy at the minute, it was hard to justify spending time standing over acid baths but if I can make a few quid to held fund my modular habit then it's all good plus I get to make panels for myself

neil_kerr · Post by **neil_kerr** » Thu Jul 07, 2016 9:20 am

Started to etch Mr Spaceman.

Here you can see the effect of the acid eating away the metal. It makes a satisfying sizzling noise

neil_kerr · Post by **neil_kerr** » Thu Jul 07, 2016 6:58 pm

Finished the 2nd 'Globes' test panel.

Eventually found a way of removing the emulsion without having to leave the panel in sodium carbonate for ages, which in turn created the rawer, aged look as seen earlier in the thread.

The new chemical solution means that, alongside creating rawer panels, I can also achieve a much cleaner finish as seen in the pics below. I opted not to rub ink into the plate as the deep etch create a nice contrast when left as it was.

Really pleased with how this turned out and now just need to make one or two slight adjustments (the etch on this was a little too deep) and should be ready to get stuck in to creating some panels for sale.

Well, actually I still need a drill. Boooo...

MacSynth · Post by **MacSynth** » Thu Jul 07, 2016 7:05 pm

Would you maybe, under the right circumstance, think about selling a few of your etchings?

Maybe you could even team up with angryblue and etch his design?

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☢☢CUSTOM ACID BATH ETCHED EURO PANELS - FINALLY UP!!!☢☢

Re: ☢☢CUSTOM ACID BATH ETCHED & SCREENPRINTED EURO PANEL

Re: ☢☢CUSTOM ACID BATH ETCHED & SCREENPRINTED EURO PANEL