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Lord help me I stink at etching enclosures

Started by taeagan, March 16, 2020, 07:00:27 PM

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taeagan

I don't want to stink at it, but I do.  I just tried another round of enclosure etching and my failure seems to be in the transfer of the image to the enclosure.  I sanded the tops of the boxes to 600 grit and cleaned them good with naptha and denatured alcohol.  I put the toner transfer paper on the top of the enclosure and ran the clothes iron over them on the highest setting for 5 minutes.  After letting cool for a bit and running under cool water, I peel back the paper and I only get about 50% adhesion. 

Anybody who's any good at this have any advice or suggestions?  I think that there are two potential areas where I'm failing:

1) Maybe I'm not getting good contact or heat transfer from the iron, through the paper, to the top of the enclosure?  I let it sit for a minute and then I start slowly pressing the iron around in small circles and short motions.  Is there another method of heat transfer that's better than the clothes iron? 
2) Maybe the toner has transferred OK but I'm just peeling it all off when I pull the paper back?  It feels to me like it's soaked through pretty well, but what do I know? 

Appreciate any thoughts or advice.  Thanks!

m-Kresol

check my tutorial that is linked in my signature. I usually iron for 15 min or so and use a roller as well to get it done. details in the tutorial
I build pedals to hide my lousy playing.

My projects are labeled Quantum Effects. My shared OSH park projects: https://oshpark.com/profiles/m-Kresol
My build docs and tutorials

taeagan

Cool, I'll give it a shot!  Thanks so much!