Homebrew PCBs

I can't agree to this severe assessment.
While HCL is highly corrosive it does not pose a problem in a closed container.

About two liters of etchant, stored in a etching tank with just a
"gravity" lid, not airtight by any means (CuCl crystals would
regularly bloom all over the lid, even on the outside), next two it
one liter of HCL in a glass bottle (closed) is stored on my workbench
for many years next to tools and materials with no ill effects at all.
I store the chemicals inside a plastic box, with another box turned
upside down as a lid to keep the dust out, but again there is no seal.

Previously I kept the HCL in a plastic (HDPE) bottle. Right next to
this bottle I kept a spray can. The welded seam of the steel spray can
did start to rust, after some years of storage this way. So plastic
bottles let some fumes through. The rust was minimal and steel items
further away did not show any signs of rust. I switched to glass
bottles because the plastic bottle became brittle.

However a completely open to the air container of strong etchant did
make nearby tools rust, as a box of drills have learned to their
detriment (but I still use them after a good oiling).

It depends on a couple of factors:

Temperature - colder means less fumes
Ventilation - obvious
Acid concentration - Pure HCL will fume a lot and should be stored in
a sealed container, while the etchant is not so bad
Distance - don't put your best tools on top of the acid container
Layers - keep your etching equipment in at last two layers of
containment, you need them anyway for spill prevention and I notice
that every time I lift the upper box the smell of chemicals is
noticeable, so it traps some fumes.

I wouldn't worry about putting my car next to the etching equipment,
and that's not just because the car is made of aluminium and won't
rust.

ST







On Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 7:19 PM, designer_craig <cs6061@...> wrote:
> I would not store HCL or HCL/H202 anyware near something you would not like to rust.  HCL has a habit of getting out of any container even with a tight cap.  Keep the container glass or plastic outside in a second container to keep it cool and eliminate any the UV that would degrade your storage container.  I store my HCL bottle in a 5 gallon drywall mud bucket/lid out in the yard.  Don't put it in the garage unless you want all your tools or even your new car rusting.
>
> Craig