Etch Any Design in Metal Easily (personalized Dog Tags, Pendants, Keychains & More)

Etching metal with custom designs is the best way to customize or mark your stuff. If you have access to blanks of dog tags or metal water bottles or anything that conducts electricity, this should work for you

Power supply - 9v 2a (12v 5a for faster results, if you are experienced)

Metal clips - preferably steel (alligator clips should work too)

1cm wide x 4cm long plastic or wooden piece (non-conductive)

1cm wide x 30cm long cotton cloth (or an old t-shirt cut to strips should do the trick)

Electrical tape

Distilled water (or drinking water)

Table salt

Isopropyl Alchohol

(optional)

Soldering station

Steel blanks (for dog tags)

Magnets (for screw tray) [I recycled mine from an old HDD]

• Cut off the end connector of the power supply. You should have 2 wires, one for power and one for ground (usually red for +ve power and black or green or white for -ve ground)
• Attach each of the ends to metal clips
• Solder the wires to the clips for a more secure connection
• Wrap the parts of the clip where you might grip them with electrical tape
• (optional) use two different colors of tape for easier distinction between them

Distilled water is the best choice as it doesn't contain contaminants that could mess up the etch.

• Dissolve as much salt as you can in the water
• Pour a small batch into a small container (I used a ceramic one, which is easier to clean later on)

NOTE: The solution on the right is after a few etchings on steel. You should change out the solution after it reaches that color or generally starts to look gross and large particulates are visible.

When it comes to the design, you have to use a stencil. I made mine by hand as they were simple designs, but you can use a plotter to cut the designs out of vinyl.

NOTE: If you don't have access to a plotter, most automotive shops (bike shops, etc.) that do custom stickers for vehicles will do the job for you at a discounted price if your design is small enough. I make a few designs that fit on an A4 sheet and get them done as a batch.

IMPORTANT: Clean every surface of the workpiece with isopropyl alcohol for a clean etch.

IMPORTANT: Cover up any exposed parts of your workpiece with tape or the solution will creep onto the uncovered surface and etch it.

The etching pad is where most of the reaction takes place as it should be able to hold some of the salt solution as well as be able to absorb the minute metal particulate that etch off of the workpiece.

• Cut a strip of cloth from an old t-shirt 1cm wide and 30cm long
• Wrap it around a piece of plastic or wood (something nonconductive)
• Grip the whole thing with the (-ve) clip

When it comes to connecting everything, here's how I did it

+ve clip - workpiece

-ve clip - etching pad

Before beginning the etching, check everything

IMPORTANT: Clean every surface of the workpiece with isopropyl alcohol for a clean etch.

• Stencil alignment
• Covering of exposed metal that doesn't need to be etched
• The salt solution in a small container but wide enough to dip the pad regularly

NOTE: PLEASE WEAR RUBBER GLOVES (DISHWASHING OR SURGICAL GLOVES SHOULD BE FINE)

1. Take the clip with the pad and submerge the pad in the solution and leave it for 10 mins (or until the whole pad is saturated with the solution)
2. Connect the +ve side to the workpiece
3. Cover up all unwanted places on the workpiece (including the clip)
4. Connect the power supply to a powerstrip with a breaker (just to be safe)
5. Take the clip with the pad and slowly rub it on the stencil making sure of contact to all parts of the stencil
6. After 2-3mins of these, the pad and the workpiece should be gunked up pretty well
7. Place the pad back in the solution and swirl it around to get rid of the particulates
8. Clean the workpiece with a tissue or leftover cloth from the t-shirt
9. Repeat the process until you reached your desired depth of etch

Note: At step 5, you could see some smoke and hear some sizzling noise from the workpiece. It is normal

Note: 2-3mins should usually be enough for "light" etching. However, if you're looking for a deep etch, you might have to repeat the process for a long time and be extra careful to clean out the gunk that comes off of the workpiece at regular intervals or you might get some irregularities or ugly etches.

NOTE: You should change out the solution after it reaches that color or generally starts to look gross and large particulates are visible.

After the desired etch is acquired, remove the stencil and clean the workpiece thoroughly with water or isopropyl alcohol.

Depending on the look you are going for, you might now choose to sand (for brushed metal) or polish the workpiece.

This is all up to you and your desired output

I sanded all my workpieces to as close to polished as I could get, then I buffed them up with Brasso polishing liquid.

• To finish off the screw holder
• I made a bottom piece into the shape of a "tray" to conceal and protect the magnets
• Now it's just a matter of closing up everything
• No glue is required as the magnet is strong enough to just hold the pieces together

NOTE: Use a black sharpie or marker to fill in the whole etching with black and then immediately rub it off before it has time to dry. This will accentuate the design more by giving it some depth and distinction from the background.

Now I have a magnetic screw holder with an organization system, as well as my name yay!

NOTE: Use some kind of oil on the workpiece after making it, or it might start to rust. I used coconut oil and applied a thin coating on the workpiece and left it overnight. In the morning I simply wiped off the excess.

I used the same setup to make a few etches at varying depts to see how they would turn out.

I primarily used steel, but any conductive metal should work just fine, albeit with different etching times.

Make Keychains, Pendants, Necklaces, and much more. Unleash your creativity as you now have a dedicated system and setup to etch metal!

Please do share your work, if you end up making one. Or if you have an idea that you would like to see etched, do leave a comment and I'll try to include it.