I have successfully been etching on copper and was wondering if any one has tried etching on base metal and if so will it work with ferric chloride or would I need something different. I thought I'd put the question out there before I experiment.

Thanks,

SueW

 Hi Sue,

What metal were you thinking about trying?? The term "base metals" covers a lot of ground. 

Ferric chloride will etch copper-based alloys such as copper, brass, and bronze. For non-copper bearing metals, you would need to find another etching solution. 

~Addie~ 

Hi Addie,

The metal is touted only as "base metal"!  It's like a dog tag. Probably nickel. Do you know of other etchants other than ferric chloride and ferric nitrate?

Sue W

If that didn't work for some reason, there are acidic options like Muriatic Acid and Nitric Acid. But those are NASTY chemicals that I wouldn't advise you use without some prepwork and a thorough knowledge base of how they work and how to neutralize and dispose of them.

Be safe in your experiments,

Thanks Addie, I'll give the ferric chloride a try and go from there.

SueW