So, I usually by my Muriatic Acid for etching at Lowes, but I was on the opposite side of town that day and ended up at Home Depot. They sell this "safer Muriatic Acid" (http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202690263/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=muriatic+acid&storeId=10051#.UOTULInjmnY) that advertises 90% lower fumes. I decided to try it out, a little reluctant, thinking it might be a little too good to be true, and wondering if it would be as affective.
While I don't recommend this, I took off the mask and opened up the bottle to test this less fumes claim. Sure enough, nothing fumed up when I opened the container to burn my nostrils, and unless I was pretty close to the container, I didn't really notice a strong smell, but you still knew it was open. First test passed.
I mixed my usual 1:1 ratio to see how it etched. It worked just fine. I don't want to start selling snake oil, but there is a part of me that thinks I may have gotten a faster etch than usual? Could have been in my brain, or because it was a freshly mixed batch, but it worked great. This is the new product I'm buying and I encourage other home etchers to give it a whirl, the almost no fumes is amazing.
Ian
we have "Safer" at Lowes as well
Quote from: jeffaroo on January 03, 2013, 10:17:35 AM
we have "Safer" at Lowes as well
Awesome. Glad to know I can get it there next time.
Cool tip. I am going to have to try this. I have been hesitant to go the muriatic acid path because of the fumes. Thanks for posting.
Chad
I'll also add that while the fumes are minimal, you still need to work in a very well ventilated area and it is a good idea to just throw a mask on.
what about fumes that have no odor?
Quote from: aziltz on January 05, 2013, 01:55:03 AM
what about fumes that have no odor?
if this is in reply to my comment on still wearing a mask, etc. It's just good practices, just because the fumes are 90% less, you are still handling a chemical, it's just good practice, that's all.
but yes, the fumes on this are extremely low and unnoticeable.
fumes with no odor is what we call a LUCKY fart.
as far as safety. dont skimp on the safety stuff. i got a single drop of muratic acid in the eye once and wasted 5 hours at the hospital with a nasty eye wash thing. then i ran around with a damn eye patch !
Arrr
that's what eye use regularly. doesn't make my eyes water like regular muriatic acid. I found the etch times a bit slower but still much faster than ferric chloride.
tastes best on chicken ! :P
i use 3 part hydrogen peroxide and 2 parts hydrocholric acid. it gives off some pretty noxious fumes sometimes.
in any case, though safer, you still wind up with some nasty, hard-to-dispose-of liquid. i still don't know how to dispose of something like that properly.
just throw it across your neighbors lawn