I got some copper clad PCB material I want to etch with ferric chloride but its labeled "Photo resist copper clad board" - can I do it?

 

Yes you can. You just need to wash/clean off the photoresist.

 

You need to get rid of the photoresist, it will stop the etching. Maybe a solvent like acetone (search around a bit), or you could leave it out in the sun for a bit and remove with sodium hydroxide (or other photoresist developer).

 

would carburetor cleaner do the job?

 

Go down to the beauticians and get some nail varnish remover.

(Nail varnish is also an easy DIY etch resist)

 

ooh, i already have that. ok.

 

Go down to the beauticians and get some nail varnish remover.

(Nail varnish is also an easy DIY etch resist)

Isn't that basically acetone? If so you can buy that at the hardware store and still hold your head up high.

 

What! and remove my new nail varnish! You know how hard it is to put on!

If you wife catches on to what it is she may start saving money to dip into your private stash.

Why not experiment with the photo part of it though? If it is coated and all?

 

Why not experiment with the photo part of it though? If it is coated and all?

thats an idea; would I need to build a IR box?

 

Ultraviolet. Sunlight is over kill, but black lights or UV LEDs would work well. There is a project for a UV LED box in the completed projects, and a simple transparency through an ink jet, or on a piece of printed paper soaked in oil (with plastic to keep the oil off other things).

This is basically photographic film, if it has been exposed to light it is ruined, and to use the PCB board stock plan A (cleaning the ruined resist off) is required.

I don't buy photo sensitive boards, which is why I go with the toner transfer. I tried photo transfer over 20 years ago with poor results, but no matter what technique you use you are going to have to experiment. I would suggest making small PCBs, a do nothing circuit with blinky lights or something, before going with bigger boards. The first one or so is likely not going to be usable, it is a learning curve. When you figure out what works you are likely to stick with it.

A board that is usable is much easier to build than a perf board or whatever, which is why everyone does it at some point. When I say much easier, I put the effort in building a circuit at about 1/10 the effort, with the chance of wiring errors nonexistent (assuming the PCB layout is correct).

 

I got some copper clad PCB material I want to etch with ferric chloride but its labeled "Photo resist copper clad board" - can I do it?

The photo resist will not be cured. So it will wash of quite easy. Try gasoline, acetone or alcohol

 

This is basically photographic film, if it has been exposed to light it is ruined, and to use the board stock plan A (cleaning the resist off) is required.

oh, well I guess that idea was fun to entertain while it lasted. Newark sent it to me in a box wrapped in clear plastic; had I even known that it was light sensitive, I still would have had to predict that they wouldn't package it properly, and open the box in a dark room.

 

I suspected as much, which is why I threw in the proviso. Most sensitized boards I've seen come in a black plastic bag.

 

The clad board I am used to can be exposed to some light in the process. I have not needed to use a dark room.

 

The stuff I've used has a peelable plastic layer over the photoresist, make sure you peel that off if you've got it

 

The stuff I've used has a peelable plastic layer over the photoresist, make sure you peel that off if you've got it

So does mine...