Acid etching-steps three and four- clean and cut

My metal is etched.

It's now time to clean my metal.

First I take the duct tape off of my metal.

I need to get the black ink off the front of my metal and the tape residue off the back.
I do this by using 0000 fine steel wool and pumice powder. I make a paste and gently rub the metal until all the black residue is off of the metal.
Now I dry the metal very well.

Now it is time to cut the metal.
 I use my cutter for the straight cuts. It works very well for metal 18 ga. and under.  I have to use my jewelers saw to cut any metal thicker than 18 ga.

My straight cuts are finished.
It's time to pull out my jewelers saw.

Each shape is hand sawed. One by one, butterflies, dragonflies, seahorses etc. start to take shape.

Still sawing.

The sawing takes a while but it is well worth the effort.

My metal is clean and my pieces are cut out.
The next step is to file and sand my pieces so that the edges are smooth.

Now it's time to put the pieces together. (A future blog?)
I hope the last three days have given you a better understanding of acid etching.
Have a wonderful week.