#006 02 Four Way Cotton Gin - Rust Bucket

How to Use Archer Etchant by Alaska's Wisest Man

I am about to build the cotton gin, and Darryl Huffman's post on using Archer Etchant is brilliant...

I started using this stuff decades ago and love it.

I keep one of my small plastic drawers in my parts cabinet labelled ETCHANT
and I use it for nothing else.

When I am done with the etchant, I wash the drawer out and put it back in
it's place.

I know you should use gloves and glasses with this stuff but I never have.

But I do spread out newspaper under the little tray as this stuff platters
everywhere.

I have one tip for newcomers.

Pour some of the etching into a plastic tray so that it is about 1/4 inch to
3/8 inch deep.

If you are using Campbell's Corrugated Siding, cut the siding into the right
sizes and put one piece into your tray containing the etchant and go away
for 15 minutes.

When you get back the piece of siding will be completely dissolved.

But, by doing this, you speed up the action of the etchant.

And, as you continue using it, it works faster and faster.

In addition to just sticking the sheets of siding into the etchant, you
should also try spraying one side of the siding with gray primer first.

Let it dry and then put the siding into the etchant.

With just a little bit of practice, you will be able to turn out great
looking, weathered siding in no time at all.

After removing the siding from the etchant, I just drop it into a bowl of
water.

So people recommend adding some baking soda to the water first but I have
never found a need to do that.

I let all the pieces sit in the water for about 30 minutes and then spread
them out on a paper towel to dry.

The stuff I did 30 years ago still looks great.

I demonstrate my methods on my Easy Weathering DVD:

http://darrylhuffman.50megs.com/custom3.html

Darryl Huffman
12020 Old Seward Highway
Anchorage, AK 99515
dlhuffman@alaska.com