etching with UV film resist

UV Resist

clean metal. You want the metal to have some 'tooth'
clean with water and alcohol
apply UV film in a cool dark place. Work under a 'bug' light
- UV film has protective plastic layers on each side. Peel off the side on the inside of the curl. You can use packing tape to grab the corner.
- spray a light mist of distilled water on the metal
- lay the film on the metal and squeegee out the bubbles and ripples
- dry with a hair dryer to heat set the film to the metal
apply the mask. The mask should be a negative of what you want.
- use acrylic plastic and binder clips to hold the sandwich together.
- expose to UV light
peel top protective film
develop in mixture of soda ash (sodium carbonate) and water. 15g of sodium carbonate to 1 liter of water.
- mix with 3/4 cups of warm water to start with. When the sodium carbonate is dissolved, mix in the rest of the water.
- develop for 9 minutes
scrub film off with an abrasive sponge starting around 7 minutes
dip in distilled white vinegar
normal lights are safe now
put metal back under UV lamp to finish hardening the film
after etching, put metal back in developing solution for several hours to remove the film