5. Etch

Please use gloves and glasses for acid handling.  I typically have two strengths of acid, the upright tank for hardground and a weaker acid for softground.  The weaker acid is below the sink, labeled ‘Edinburgh 25degrees Anna Wagner.’  Pull out the acid tray, place your plate in it, and then carefully decant enough acid just to cover your plate.  In this example I’m using a food tray which isn’t ideal but it works, but I encourage you to use a real tray.  Ten minutes is the minimum etching time for softground to get the imge into the plate, but the image will be real faint.  25/30 minutes will achieve an etch that looks like a regular pencil drawing.  45 mins will create the effect of charcoal pencil.  Longer than that and you risk “false biting” (where the acid begins to break down the ground) but that can be an interesting effect. I recommend tipping up the plate every 15 minutes or so to allow etched copper particles to drain away from the plate’s surface.  When you are finished, let the plate drip off into the tray and rinse it with water thoroughly, strip off the backing and throw it away and then rinse your plate again.  Let the water run for a minute after to allow the acid to dilute so that it doesn’t corrode the pipes.  With goggles on, pour the remaining acid carefully back into the jar with the funnel over the sink.