Original Researchers: Melissa Mandell and Chelsea Mullins - 2011

Follow-up Researchers: Tessa Chambers and Nick Osetek - 2018

The copper sulfate saline etch is a salt-based etching mordant designed for silvery metals such as aluminum, zinc and mild steel as a replacement for Friedhard Kiekeban’s ferric chloride-based ‘Edinborough Etch’ used for etching materials such as copper and brass. Based on the copper sulfate mordant originally designed by Nik Semenoff and published as the ‘Bordeaux Etch’ by Cedric Green, the copper sulfate saline etch was improved upon by Kiekeban by adding a mixture of sodium chloride (or table salt) to the mordant for a quicker, cleaner and crisper etch. Our main task is to improve upon this etching process by focusing on aluminum plates and creating a ‘closed-loop’ system that recycles or re-purposes the displaced copper residue from the mordant, thus creating a sustainable, consistent and non-toxic etching system that can be maintained safely in private and/or collaborative spaces that requires minimal upkeep and little to no waste.