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 Etching technique
 I am talking about etching. With help of this technique you can produce out of several materials (messing, German silver, bronze) details that are just some ten millimeters large. The Saemann company, with which I have been a customer for quite a time, offers a very good variety of materials, ready-made parts and accessories. And this is how it works: with etch a film is laid on a metal plate covered with photo and exposed. The black spots of the picture stay with the following development; the rest will be rinsed away. With the positive variant it also works the other way round. The acid bath does not attack those spots that stayed on the resist, but just etch away the rest of the metal. In approximately 30 min (not counting the pre work) you have the prettiest pieces in front of you.
Seaman says in his description, that everybody can etch and that is true too. You just have to work adequately. At first you draw the wanted piece on the computer with help of a CAD-program or as well with the graphic program Corel draw in original size. Bores and breakthroughs stay white, the rest is black. You just have to be careful, that the smallest holes and details must not be less than the sheet strength. I mostly use 0.2 or 0.3 mm strong messing or German silver sheet. The single pieces now have to be placed within a frame and with this frame they have to be fastened among each other with strips in sheet strength, so that they will not just fall into the bath when you are etching. If you have pieces, that look alike on the front and the backside, then you can just etch from one side, which means you just need one film, lighten just this one side and etch then. This method, however, takes a long time and will be a little bit dirty, because so-called under-etchings (on the edges of the building pieces the material is attacked) can be seen. I always produce two films. That has the advantage that front and backside can be different and you can work in bending edges.
That works by letting one side stay white and the backside is black. Then the sheet is just attacked from one side. So, you can also imitate profiles, blanks and pipes and similar things. For the etching you should get a diving-etching installation because the etching is possible in the bowl in general, but just bad results with a much longer etching time are possible. For the principle equipment for the etching you have to spend about 200 marks. That is worth it, when you see the variety of results. In particular with the titanic I etched windows, hatches, checkered plates, doors, rails and other little things.
Closer information concerning the etching is available at:
SEAMANN
ZWEIBRÜCKER STRASSE 58, 66953 PIRMASENS, TELEPHON and FAX NUMBER: (area code for Germany) + 06991-12440, GERMANY
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