--- In
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "poofjunior" <seeifyoucanmeetme@...> wrote:
>
> Hello, everyone,
>
> I've got a question that comes with a quick back-story.
>
> Last winter, I started etching with a batch of cupric chloride that I had made myself. I was hoping to aerate it for a while for reuse, so I left the lid off the waste container and let it sit on the garage table. Unfortunately, I left back to school about a week later, but thankfully my dad kindly covered it back up for me.
>
> Unfortunately, when I returned in the spring, I noticed that from that week with the lid off, the nearby power drill had developed a fine layer of brown rust on some of its exposed metal parts.
>
> In retrospect, I should've predicted this, but I didn't since we've all discussed aerating our solutions without any issues.
>
> In light of "the unintentional etch," has anyone else had this issue before? Also, how are y'all aerating your solution to avoid this problem? I can imagine that aerating near something like a computer for a week could be disastrous since the vents expose the metal inside.
>
> I'd really appreciate any thoughts/hints for "responsibly" aerating!
>
> :)
>
> Many thanks for your input!
>
Acid is incredibly nasty stuff, actually anything that will etch copper will also attack most other metals to some degree. Even stainless is easily rusted by HCl or Ferric Chloride.
Whenever I aerate the stuff I try to do it outside, or at the very least in a well ventilated area away from any metal objects. It is inevitable that you will get some vapor in the air.