Using Multi-Etch on Your Metals
Chris Boothe, developer of Multi-Etch
I originally perfected Multi-Etch for titanium production. It’s a nonacid (pH 6.8) alternative to hydrofluoric acid. I’ve also tested it on other metals with great results.
Multi-Etch can be used on the following metals:
- Titanium
- Niobium
- Platinum
- Copper
- Nickel
- Brass
- Steel
- Silver
- Mokumé
- Meteorite
On titanium and niobium, I use Multi-Etch to remove anodizing mistakes and to clean off contamination—iron from rolling mills, heat oxides, etc. Multi-Etch will maintain the finish on titanium and niobium as long as the metal is not etched too long. Here’s a single piece of titanium that I left “as is” on the top, cleaned with Multi-Etch on the bottom, and then anodized. It looks like I anodized them separately but I did it all at once.
Anodized titanium unetched (top), and treated with Multi-Etch (bottom)
Copper and brass etch more quickly than titanium. You can use Multi-Etch to remove light firescale from silver but not from gold. You can clean iron contamination from platinum without removing any platinum ions. I’ve done limited testing with Multi-Etch on platinum for etch effects—that is, removal of platinum ions—and there doesn’t seem to be any effect. I have not tested it with rhodium plating but I assume there would be no effect on that either. Although Multi-Etch will etch glass, it does so too slowly to be practical for decorative etching.
I have used Multi-Etch to remove broken steel drill bits trapped in titanium and gold.
Multi-Etch will enhance the patterns in mokumé and the crystals in meteorites by etching the different metals at different rates, thus slightly raising one over another.
Here is some meteorite showing before and after treatment with Multi-Etch:
Untreated meteorite
Meteorite treated with Multi-Etch
Although my experience is with jewelry, there are many other industries where Muti-Etch is used, such as the medical industry which uses a lot of titanium.
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