| Qty | Unit Price (Ex VAT) |
|---|---|
| 1+ | £17.90 |
| 3+ | £16.72 |
This special formulation of ferric chloride is ideal for etching metals and all types of copper circuit boards.
| Type | Ferric chloride etchant |
|---|---|
| Quantity | 5000ml |
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Sign InQ. For etching brass (copper/zinc) would dilution remain at 30% or would a lower dilution be recommended?
A. Hi Ian, thank you for your question. The datasheet states: "For stainless steel, nickel and high nickel allow use as supplied. For copper, brass and bronze use 30% water".
Q. What is the best and safest way to dispose of this product?
A. Hi John, thank you for your question. This must be disposed of as chemical waste. Please contact your local council for advice.
Q. I understand that this ideally should be used heated up, but is it possible to use it cold too? I'm guessing it will just take longer to etch?
A. Hi Edward. Thank you for your question. Cold is fine, it will just take longer.
Q. So if I add 1500 ml, this would be the 30% for copper strength, am I correct. Sorry for being dense !
A. Thanks for your enquiry Alan. Yes you are correct if added to a complete container of 5 litres.
Q. i want to use ferric chloride to pour onto my pots and fire them in a reducing atmosphere in the kiln.they are wrapped in baking foil to seal them and with a few combustible materials can produce spectacular effects.would i need to dilute the solution or use as supplied? Many thanks.
A. Hi Martin, thanks for your question. We supply this for electronics use. For safety reasons we cannot comment on other non standard uses. You can try it but at your own risk, some chemicals when mixed with others and heated can cause explosion.
Q. what is the self life of this chemical if it remains sealed and unopened? does the container deteriorate with time while holding the solution?
A. Thanks for the enquiry Gavin - The shelf life for this product is 12 months - As far as we are aware there is no deterioration to the canister during this time.
This product is far better than using crystals & its life span is a lot longer than they recommend of a year. I'm still using the stuff i bought in 2010 & its just as strong now as it was then. Also having to add 30% water means you get roughly 6.5 Litres of product depending on how much you want to water it down. Excellent product.
Usually hexahydrate crystals are the easiest way to buy ferric chloride and - until recently - I thought, the cheapest. But even buying enough crystals to make up 2L of solution can cost twice the price of Rapid's ready-mixed 5L solution. This is "industrial grade" ferric chloride, which means it can even be diluted and still be suitable for etching copper clad boards to make PCBs. I have used this neat (heated in a sweet jar with an aquarium heater to get it to 40 degrees C) and it etched a full-sized 160x100 eurocard board in just a few minutes. Great stuff! Can also be used cold, and is especially good for contact etching (using about a tablespoon full to saturate a small piece of sponge). I've also bought (but haven't tried) some citric acid to make up the Edinburgh etch, but this ferric chloride performs so well on its own, I don't think I'll bother!
If your going to do a lot of DIY PCB etching then this is a cost effective way of doing so and will last for ages.
This product is a very good cleaner apart from the smell it leaves behind
