304 stainless etching

It's possible to etch 304 with ferric chloride, masking with KPR (Kodak photoresist) just about like with copper printed circuit photofabrication. I vaguely recollect the photoresist had to be baked after application (it didn't adhere well otherwise).

responding to

You probably need to screen it, like a halftone photo in a magazine.

Joe Gwinn

I have never managed a decent etch with Ferric Chloride on stainless. It works on mild steel but slowly and the etch is shallow compared with copper and brass.

Electro-etching is a possibility in but given the nature of the image the details of the process will be critical. I have never done half-tones that way.

Michael Koblic, Campbell River, BC

I'd say ill advised. Can you tell me you have a coating of Fe ? I hope not. It would rust.

Is the layer all Ni ? - likely not enough and magnetic.

Is the layer all Chrome ? more likely with pitting of localized Fe - needing to be neutralized with Citrus or Nitric.

Stainless is a complex steel. I'd etch with grit and resist.

Mart> resp> is it possible to achieve the various shades of black and gray to etch a