>
> I do not use ferric chloride but  I use muratic acid and
> hydrogen peroxide.  2 parts hydrogen peroxide and
> 1 part muratic acid and use at room temp.  This does
> the best and fastest etching of any thing I have seen.
> You do not want to breathe the fumes and the fumes
> are corrosive so don't expose any metal to the fumes.


I was a big proponent of this stuff a couple years ago (check the archives
for a couple of write ups) but there's a big detail missing in this short
description. When you first mix the HCL and H2O2, the etch chemistry is,
basicaly, free chlorine. Nasty, nasty stuff. But once you've added a fair
bit of copper it becomes a mixture of copper chlorate, wonderful stuff. It
doesn't stink, and it's completely regenerable by simply adding oxygen (I
use an aquarium pump to bubble air through it).

Good luck - and watch out for the toxic chlorine gas-
-Denny
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