Step 4Clean Up (Not Much To Do)

The clean up really is just a matter of rinsing out the sponge, throwing away the rubber gloves (or rinsing them off for reuse), and cleaning any spilled drops of ferric chloride from the work surface.

You can reuse the sponge over and over, so rinse it and let it dry, and keep it with your bottle of ferric chloride.

Step 5Finished Product, and Your Results

Here's the finished product. Not too bad for 5 minutes from start to end!

I hope you will agree that this method is faster, cheaper, and more exciting to watch than other etching methods you may have used in the past. I'll bet you'll never use the ferric chloride tub or tank immersion method again.

I'm not sure if this low-volume wiping method will work with the muriatic acid and hydrogen peroxide etchant, but it is worth a try.

Some information I read indicated that adding a small amount of citric acid to the ferric chloride will make it an even more effective etchant for use with the sponge or immersion methods. You can find citric acid powder at beer and wine making shops, and even on eBay.

Go ahead and try this sponge method, and let me know in the Comments section if this will become your new method for etching circuits like it did for me.