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How to Acid Etch Guns

Acid etching a design into the metal parts of a firearm customizes your gun. Handguns are usually etched on the slide, while rifles can be etched on the receiver or barrel. If your gun's metal is coated, etching will most likely void the warranty. Test the process several times on different kinds of metal to gain experience before working on your firearm. Since gun models use different types of metals, hardness and coatings there is a possibility the etching may not turn out the way you want.

Things You'll Need

Rubber gloves
Safety goggles
Water
Baking soda
Cloth towel
Fine marking pen
Hobby Knife
Tweezers
Roll of duct or masking tape
Jar of murriatic acid from a pool supply store
Fine paint brush
Machine oil

Instructions

- 1
  Disassemble your firearm and remove the unnecessary parts from the work area.
- 2
  Clean and dry the metal part from any powder residue, oil or grease and dirt.
- 3
  Cover the area to be etched with the duct tape or several layers of masking tape. Press the tape down to firmly secure it to the metal.
- 4
  Trace the design you want on the metal with a fine marking pen. If you make a mistake, pull the tape off and start over.
- 5
  Score around the design with the knife. Tweeze the excess tape out of the design, being careful to not lift the edges of the cut tape. Press down on all the tape to resecure it.
- 6
  Put on gloves and safety goggles.
- 7
  Brush the acid lightly and evenly onto the tape and exposed metal, being careful not to go over the edge of the tape. Use several light coats of acid instead of one major coat.
- 8
  Wait an appropriate length of time based upon your experience with other metal and the depth of the etching you desire. This may be as long as several hours.
- 9
  Pull the tape off and pat the etched area with a towel dipped into a paste of baking soda and water. This will immediately neutralize the remaining acid.
- 10
  Rinse the metal part off and clean it again. Rub the metal with a thin coat of machine oil or other preservative.

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