Etching metal with Electricity!

Hey everyone I found a really neat project i wanted to try out that involved just a few household items. You can actually etch stainless steel with just some salt water and a 9 volt battery!

Here are the items you will need: 

                                                    Table salt
                                                 Cup of water
                                             A sticker or stencil
                                             9 Volt battery or 2
                                                   Some wire
                                           Q-tips or cotton balls

Find a piece of metal that you would like to etch, this metal cant have any paint or coating on it. Clean the metal with some alcohol or acetone to make sure you do not have any oil or grease on it. 

put your sticker or stencil on the metal where you want it. remember that any exposed metal will be etched and anything the sticker or stencil covers up will remain the same. To make sure you do not etch anything you do not want to use tape to cover any metal around the are you will be etching. Next thing to do will be to attach your wires to the battery. connect one wire from the positive (+) lead and connect it to the piece of metal we will be working on. Take another wire and attach it to the negative (-) lead this wire will be connected to our Q-tip. in a cup mix together the table salt and water until the salt has dissolved. soak your Q-tips in this solution. take one Q-tip out and connect the negative (-) wire to it, making sure its touching the cotton area that has absorbed the saltwater. Press the Q-tip to the exposed metal that we want to etch and hold it for 5-10 seconds at a time. Move the Q-tip around to get a even etching (holding it in one place for too long can cause an uneven look).

For a deeper etch repeat this step until you are happy with it. All that is left is to removed the stencil or sticker and wipe it clean. 

I had to do a voice over on this video so i apologize for the terrible audio. 

This is a really easy project that i can see myself using for all sorts of crafts. I have been looking online at some metal objects to buy and etch onto. I will post some picture and info of those when i get them and you can let me know if you would like for me to make you one. 

Thanks guys!