cupric chloride solution-where to buy

[stevez]

Anyone know where cupric chloride can be purchased for use as an etchant? Quantities would be small - a liter or two at a time.

A friend of mine (retired technology teacher) uses this to etch stainless steel. He chose that material because in the past he used cupric chloride to etch circuit boards (solution could be refreshed w/HCl) and he is familiar with the material. It would seem that refreshing in the stainless application wouldn't work but I don't think that matters to him as the quantities he uses (etch logo on knife blade) are small.

Thanks.

 

[psu_EE_guitar_nut]

hey stevez, i have some etchant solution i got from radio shack, it came in a kit so if you feel like shelling out the $30(american) for some solvent , PCB board, a black sharpe and the etchant go ahead. The bottle says the solution contains FeCl3, my chem's a little rusty but i'm pretty sure it's the same stuff your talking about. Take it easy

 

[stevez]

Thanks but my pal is pretty insistent on using cupric chloride. Ferric chloride is relatively easy to procure and I've suggested he make the change. Again, his application is etching forged stainless steel. He tried some leftover cupric chloride and was happy with the results. Now he'd like to simply continue using what works for him.

 

[lavenatti]

skylighter.com has it for about $8.00 a pound, you'll have to make your own solution from it. Have you tried ebay? Lots of chem suppliers out there.