How to make photo etched parts at home - Great Guide Plastic Models
Вставка
- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- little corrections of used material: Not zinc sheet but a brass sheet
and not duct tape but packing tape
Here is my negative image for printing. www.dropbox.co...
hydrogen chloride solution 31%, hydrogen peroxide solution 30% and ferric chloride solution 40% and NaOH 10g for 1l water
part1 - How to paint cockpit - • Great Guide Plastic Mo...
part2 - Self-made improvements - • Great Guide Plastic Mo...
part3 - How to Use Washes Oil • How to Use Washes Oil,...
part4 - Riveting and Rescribing Panel Lines - • Great Guide Plastic Mo...
part5 - Weathering using aquarelle crayons - • Video
part6 - How to paint and create stencils RAF roundels - • How to paint and creat...
part7 - Airbrush tutorial, tips for better airbrushing - • Airbrush tutorial, tip...
part8 - How to paint inline engine - • How to paint Spitfire ...
part9 - Resin accessories - • Resin accessories - Ed...
My web: www.plasticmode...
David Damek
Music used:
MachinimaSound.com_-_The_End_of_Mankind
MachinimaSound.com_-_The_Hyperborean_Menace
Machinimasound.com_-_Damnation
machinimasound...
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
(creativecommons...) - Навчання та стиль
My young! I'm an advanced deity citizen, but I don't get tired of learning to do things! I just have to thank you for your selflessness and sharing knowledge. The world would be different if we had more young people like you! Thank you very much!
Great reminder from when I made many PCBs - but I had the luxury of a fibre backing to the copper. This fine brass work is stunning and was great to watch!
Absoloutly amazing!!!!!! This is going to save me a fortune in parts for my railway items
Я в шоке какая офигенная работа! Слов нет,одни восхищения работой настоящего мастера! БРАВО...
Anybody can do bad work, but not everybody does good work. Great Work
I DO NOT CARE if this could be dangerous to do at home. That is really impressive stuff. I will be trying this myself, I can't see how it could be a danger, if your careful. The possibilities this opens up for scale detailing are huge. Thanks Mate !! You earned a subscriber on 1 video. I'll have to watch any several times to understand your accent, but I can handle that.
Wow, I expected you to be so much older. Mind Blown. Awesome video Thanks.
Thank you.
yep i asked him in another video for how long he is doing this and he told me hes "only" doing it for some years now and that he is 24 - definatly mind blown!
hehe, keep up the good work!
Hahaha. My exact reaction. I was expecting a much older man. And there I thought I'm one of the younger chaps into scale model building (Turned 31 in Aug this year). :P
Me too! I saw his hands and I hear his voice. I knew he was quite young but I'm surprised the same! Because his skill ar far superior then the skill of common modelers of his age. He is a fast learner....I'm envy :P
This is pretty neat. I did a couple PCBs back in school using a toner transfer method rather than this.
The best part of this method is that you can reuse the masks which is probably a big plus for model makers.
I'm a simple man... I see a useful video, I upvote.
Definitely mind blown right now. I use to etch printed circuit boards, never though it could be used in this way. Nice work.
That was eye opening ! And the level of small details that was captured was amazing to see I give your video a perfect 10 it's one of the best how to videos that I have seen online
Amazing work! Its people like you that help keep me optimistic about our future!
Thanks for sharing your work! 100% inspiring!
I build scale aircrafts and now i have a idea for building photoetched parts for cockpit panels and wheels masks.
THANK YOU AND PERFECT WORK.
Thank you for this video, I can watch it over and over and never get bored. Cheers!
Stunning work, David! Very inspiring as all your videos. Keep it up. Allways looking forward for the next one :)
Great results, well done my friend. I will keep a note of this video and if I ever need any PE making, I can look this up again.
Many thanks,
Joe
Thank you. Professional PE are etched from both sides but it is unnecessarily complicated.
Great work and an excellent video, David! Hehe I, too, was surprised at how young you are, considering what a craftsman modeller you are!
Such a stereotypical response
Buckey Goldstar sjw clown.
@@thetoecutter13 Sjw? I don't understand this "you're young so you can't be a good modeler" mentality too.
@@PSRJ-b-ht3wt The reality is... school/university aged boys are like sponges and absorb fine modelling skills quickly thanks to this thing called the internet. This is why I'm never surprised at how some of the artistic level modelers are much younger than I. As I see it, I'm thankful they are around for we old guys don't have the interest in posting videos of our model making.
Level Model God !!!!!! You're unstoppable now David 🙌 I'm giving you the award of best video tutorial ever!!!!! Keep these videos coming 👍👍👍👍👍
the highest respect and thanks for this video must be offered.
I can't state it any other way than you are a Hero of the modelling/YTtutorial communities.
many kudos
David you make this look easy...but I appreciate you opening up my mind to the possibility of creating PE parts!
I have been using this method for making railway loco name plates and various model tram parts for years.
The light sensitive coating chemical I obtained through the PCB trade. Unfortunately I bought the negative one instead of the positive one. It works, but needs more work to set up the design on a PC since it is the printed black lines which are etched. I have had it for some 15 years and keep it in a small fridge.
For the developer I use a solution of baking powder (as advised by the PCB trade).
I have been using .4mm brass sheet which is fine for name plates etc. but has to be etched from both sides for items as demonstrated in the video. Believe me two sided work is very fiddly to coat and set up.
Any way, it was a very interesting video.
Many thanks for the how to because I didn't realize how easy it really is. Made a copy of this video and downloaded a lot of fence/gate/fern drawings via Google. There are some dome homes/apartments that are abandoned in S. Korea which have odd shaped windows, kind of like the human eye and now I can make window frames, along with a diorama of people playing whack a mole in the local cemetery against zombies.
lol im a mechanical engineer and never seen brass disolving before in my life lol...... nice! now i know where PE parts come from
Wow!! That's awesome!! Never knew how photo etch parts were made. Seems so simple
Rather than using a hobby knife to get rid of the bubbles, your local sign supplier has squeegees and very fine points for smoothing down adhesive materials in pricking holes to remove bubbles.
Awesome video.
It was only briefly mentioned in the video, but the photo-sensitive emulsion should be applied in a "dark room" environment, and the air should be clean (no dust floating around). Dust specs in your film can ruin a print, depending on where it lands. I use a cheap yellow bug light, and the 24 hours while it's drying also needs to be in a clean place so dust and bugs don't land on it. It would have been cool to include in this video the 2-step exposure process showing how to make de-bossed parts (some areas etched partway through, other areas etched completely through). Basically, separate masks for front and back patterns. (Use registration marks on the two design patterns for alignment.) My final comment is it's a good idea to clamp your artwork under a glass plate while exposing with the UV light. If it shifts at all during exposure then that will also ruin your parts. Oh, and always dispose of your used chemicals properly!
I've been told that many of the milky plastic containers block UV rays. If that's the case, you can just cover it with that and leave it on your desk. Then again, I wonder if solid containers also block UV rays...;-p
It's not exclusively UV that exposes the resist - "photo-sensitive" material will react with almost all light, it's just a matter of exposure time. (True, some wavelengths are effectively inert for photoresist, but it's still a good idea to minimize light exposure prior to developing.) People use UV light because it's fast, taking only a couple seconds or minutes depending on the intensity. Normal light will also expose the resist, but it will take longer and then you lose image quality.
Ah, so go with solid
man, really you are awesome!, or as we tell in México "un chingón". Congratulations for your work and thanx for share your knowledges.
Thats a lot easier than I was expecting. Thanks David.
WOW... wow... and wow... you blue up my mind... I never thought that we could do this at home! and me like stupid was always buying them, thanks man... Bravo
love how he reads the script first but probably could have just picked up the bottles in any order and read the label. Not calling him out, just thought it was funny. Great video, very useful.
ferric chloride is super messy it will leave stains that are unwashable. very nice video.
Thank you very much for posting this tutorial, the only part I'd have trouble getting is the UV lamp, but not that much trouble, just have to save up a week or 2. The amount of detail you can get is amazing & the amount of money a person can save by doing it themselves is great as photo etched parts can add up after a few pieces & whats needed for a given project. Thanks again & the info was worth subscribing as modeling is a hobby that flourishes when knowledge is passed amongst its practioners
Percy Barbarossa The UV lamp is the same one used to dry polish on ladies' fingernails.
Awesome! I've been looking at laser CAD cutters but the cheap ones weren't rated for metal. I can finally complete my 1/700 scale fleet at a fraction of the cost!
Great video - you can learn a lot. I'm not entirely convinced about using adhesive tape as a support to hold the parts in place. When I tried this method, it was very difficult to get free from the adhesive tape... apart from that, I believe that the ability to create such elements is very developing.
Great tutorial. Thanks for sharing. I will add this to my book nook project. Keep the videos coming.
Beautiful work from start to finish. Thank you very much for making this tutorial.
Bravo from Texas!
Great video.
Also you look very young.
But you are so experienced and talented.salute you
those came out beautifully, great job. i've forgotten about this process, which is something i think i could find use for in my and my wife's trophy/plaque business.
but, you could etch these things and afix them to anything. shoo, you can even build models with them ~ very delicate models. granted, a laser engraver could do all this, too, but, yeah, i don't have the money for one of those yet, lol. a sandblaster could do it, too, come to think of it, but this would probably be by far the most cost-effective....
Wow...very impressive. I watched your other video on molding with blue stuff and of course, immediately ordered. Your videos are very well made and informative. Thank you for taking the time to educate us!
Thanks for the demo, you make it look easy!
Nice work!
Simply amazing. You're a master, David. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I just tested this technique two weeks ago. This was my second attempt. Learn and share. :-D
+PLASMO - plastic models What will you do in two months...
I declare you high overlord of the modelling community!
Thanks so much for this demonstration, very kind of you to take the time to share your knowledge of this process with all of us who love modeling and love to add the kind of detail that Photo Etched parts offer.
Crazy! It's like laser etching without the laser.
Amazing. Just have to figure out how to make the parts on clear paper and the photo etching process can be done at home.
this is fantastic. How thick, or what is the thickest sheet you could use? As for the printing, if you needed to, you could always have them professionally printed at a local shop, probably would not be that much for a few 8x11's of perfect high resolution
I would like to know how thick can you go because I am trying to do this with a 1" copper plumbing cap. I may just make my pattern on brass instead and do a wrap instead of a cap. So I need to know the thinkest metal I can use. The metal in the video looked paper thin.
@@casmaran545 hey dude, I'm not the maker of the video, but it's a good question. most etching becomes a thing of time. time in the acid or time with the current. the longer you leave it, the deeper it gets. best thing, try it, take a video and share
Very impressive results for a really cheap price !
Thanks for posting !
I was knowing it but never saw practical....Thanks a lot
Very cool! Perfect etchings to build models and dioramas.
I see jewelry applications. Thanks for reminding me about etching. I did my first etching in 1970.
I have a question. When i get professionally made etched brass parts, they often will have sections that are "half etched" IE, areas where the brass has been partially eaten away. Usually this is done on areas with raised rivets (i model trains, we have lots of rivets) or where the part is intented to be bent when assembling. My question is how would i acheive this?
My guess would be to start by printing the rivets on the brass, start the etching process, and interrupt it partway through to add a layer of lacquer on the remaining part i want to protect.
Would there be a different way to do this?
Very talented and I enjoyed watching your videos keep up the awesome work man!
👍 really nice 👍 , can sunlight exposer open the film instead of uv lamp ?
I may sound sadistic, by I'd LOVE to see you build an entirely "photo etched model" one day 😂😂
I bet you have the skill to do this 😂
This video was great i was looking for videos on what machine to use but this is just awesome
If you have access to a laser cutter / engraver there is a quicker way. You can skip everything up until the etching. Put your brass piece on the tape, spray it with spray paint, put it in the laser engraver paint side up and at a very low setting engrave the piece with a negative image of your pattern. The paint has now been removed from the parts that should be etched. After etching the remaing paint can be removed with rubbing alcohol or what ever dissolves it.
Přehlédl jsem.Promiň. Díky za naprosto skvělá videa.
Going to try this this weekend on chemical milling of watch dials. Is there a undercut rule of thumb? Like for every 1mm of etching, expect .2mm of undercut or anything like that?
‼️don’t attempt to use any Brass or Stainless Steel thicker than .05”.
👉I just spent a week testing .10” SS on a small motor plate & it took 6+ hours of etching😱(I rotated & even flipped the plate in the NEW HEATED batch of etching solution)
So the Sweet spot is .05” or less✅
I used fresh heated etching solution on .05" stainless steel plate & it took 50 minutes to fully etch. Hope that helps some....
Awesome! thanks for the information I'm a beginner and am learning so much from your inspirational video's Cheers from Canada Great Work!!!
I am just going to have to try this for parts of a DIY 1/48 aircraft carrier elevator perimeter shroud and tie downs.
Breaking bad tutorial! 😀
Great video. Looks amazing
Thank you so much. This is incredible and perfect for the detailed pieces I plan to make to go with my miniatures. Could not be happier I found this knowledge and your videos. thank you sir.
Wow you are amazing kiddo wow simply fantastic . BRAVO well done i love it
Amazing work as always. I think I'd use the safer version, knowing my luck, my chemicals would go critical and I'd create a wasteland in the South of England! That would be okay if I localised it to Downing Street lol
David, may I ask where you purchased the UV light/what brand it is please.
This is super cool, need to try it out.
Very nice video illustrating DIY at home. Thank you.
Could you use grayscale or dithering to impart a texture onto the finished pieces? I mean if the template wasn't just solid black.
Thank you! I live in Slovakia and I don't know what these are called in Slovak or czech as I only speak English unforunately, this definitely helps me out!
Thank you for the tutorial. Very informative. I wanted to know if there are any alternative to photosensitive lacquer?
Great vid and very informative. Always wanted to know how to make my own etched parts. Thanks again.
Do you think it would be possible to produce watch hands this way? Thanks
Fantastic! Can you use the photo resist film instead of the positiv 20 spray can?
Nice job! Gate looks super nice.
do you draw everything yourself? I want to do the same with a steering wheel from my pocher model, but I cannot draw the steering wheel digitally.
I'm tempted to try this to make painting masks.
My left ear enjoyed this.
How do you partially etch? As in not all thr way through the sheet? I want to try some viking knotwork decorations for my space wolves but will need some partially etched lines as well as the complwtely empty areas.
Thank you so much for sharing you solve my problem thank you thank you five stars for you⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hi, do you think I can etch “perforate” 0,5 mm aluminium speaker grille using same methods?
Thank You
How do they get recessed areas on parts? Expose a second time and stop the process early?
what kind of tape are you using that it comes off that easy?
did the brass sheet are same with brass sheet use to photo etch for pcb board/electronic board
Hey there, great tutorial! Now I fell ready to try by myselfe.
When you etch with Iron(III) chloride can you speed up if you use an Aquaristic glasheater (to warm controlled up), an air pump with airstone made of lime wood (better and smaller bubbles), placed under your object. You will find out that you really speed up and avoid under-etching at the edges. Additionally you can speed up once more, if you place you material to etch upright in cuvette with the airstone at the bottom. Now the bubbles sweep along the surface and speed up the etching process. Hint: it is usefull to place a cap over the etching container to prevent spray of burst bubbles.
Thank you for posting this video... I would like to ask how you might be able to etch a second level on a etch part like the gate. Thank you.
Multiple passes with both the photo lacquer and the solution. Do the full etching first, then the partial etching.
Great video. Can i use my laser printer at home with transparent sheet if i do not want to go to the professional printer?.
I tried it. :-D Laser printer has fguser roller which is very hot and plastic sheet was melting down. Ink printer is much better for this.
PLASMO - plastic models
ok, thank you for the response.
Thank you for this! I've been wanting to know how this is done and your step by step method is really appreciated. Will you cover at some point how you made the template in GIMP and what sort of DPI you need for it to be clear? Can you use templates and convert them?
very very nice n iformative video.....
This is great but Positiv 20 is not available in the US. Is there another product that would do the same thing? I want to use the sodium hydroxide / ferric chloride method. Thanks!
Hey I have to ask you ,What do I use if I can't find Positive 20 in My USA what can I use.
Great video and work. have you tred to etch thicker bras than 0,1/0.2 , in case does it work to etch 0.5 up to 1.0 with good result?
Very well done! Can you tell me what the concentration of Ferric Chloride you used?
Simply amazing! Wow!
What kind of transparent sheets did you used ? Can you remember the brand name ?
Excellent video. Do you know of a way to make custom masks for photo etching? I need to make some very special precision parts for an antique German musical trumpeter clock out of 0.127mm thick brass sheet (0.005 inches).
many etching companies online Sir.
This is pretty nuts. Better watch out! over pricing companies might get jealous!
over-pricing companies? you mean, businesses with utilities, leases, employees, insurance, professional equipment and quality guarantees? you mean they're more expensive than someone working out of their garage? shocking! lol.
ryan barker I understand full well why they charge so much (what with the price of living going up, inflation etc. and the sad truth that modeling is a dying art) but it's always nice to see that were not totally reliant on them for adding detail.
Mad Cow Rebel i'm not a modeler (i can certainly appreciate the skillz involved), but i look at this process and see how i can apply it to my small business. would i charge more because i'm a legit business than the garage operator/hobbyist? not necessarily, especially when the hobbyist begins to take orders and realizes that even without overhead he's not even making near minimum wage, lol.
i love this process, though, and see a lot of applications other than for modeling.
No doubt! Plus, add to that the time (also an expense) of painstaking research for designing quality parts. This video shows the "garage" proces, but the "professional" process is a little more expensive, and you've heard the saying "you get what you pay for". You'll notice the difference when comparing the edges and profiles of professionally-etched parts versus home-etched parts.
Hmmm i would be surprised. The chemical reaction can be as precise as the pro model. Also he just need to use a 2000 grade sand paper "et voilà".
Sir can we use hydrogen para oxide and hydrogen cloride for iron etching design.
Hello. I followed your instructions exactly but I never get results like yours (Three attemps not one useable etch). I think the problem is with the Positiv 20 as the images I get after dvelopment are never as distinctive as yours. Do you knoe any other method to transfer the images to the metal? Thanks
how long did you leave the zinc sheet in the developing solution? because it looked like you just stuck it in there, wiped it off really quick with the brush and then took it out.
teda jo, palec hore za to, díky moc za videjko ,sice bych víc chápala česky, ale dobře ;-) wow