Hydrochloric acid... aka this, that & the other.

[simonineaston]

For various reasons too tedious to describe here, I'm about to use hydrochloric acid on stone, hoping to etch a pattern on the stone. What tickled me is the coy way that the acid lies in plain sight. After poking around on Amazon, I found it on the shelves of Robert Dyas, in the middle of Bristol's main town-centre shopping mall, much to my surprise. There it's marketed as Spirits of Salt - what a great name!
On Amazon it pops up mostly as Muriatic acid.

[rjb]

I was always intrigued by Aqua Regia. How did that name come about. Bet you won't find this in your town centre shopping mall. Unless they have an alien handy to cut his finger off.

[Jdsk]

I was always intrigued by Aqua Regia. How did that name come about.

It’s because it is powerful/ royal/ noble enough to dissolve the noble metals.

Jonathan

[fastpedaller]

Available as brick cleaner from builders merchants (or was 10 years ago)

[briansnail]

No No................... reasons are never tedious.
What pattern are you etching? Bicycles are to difficult. Also how are you cutting the pattern? and what strength acid is being used.

[Stevek76]

I was always intrigued by Aqua Regia. How did that name come about. Bet you won't find this in your town centre shopping mall.

Not directly but you can get nitric at garden centres (some pH lowering products) and aqua regia is simply a mix of the two.

[Norman H]

Do treat it with respect, I'd suggest rubber gloves and safety goggles, and avoid breathing in the fumes.

[simonineaston]

Will do - I'm going round a mate's house to carry out the task in his back yard. Gloves and eyewear all on stand-by.
ps Was amused by instructions on bottle bearing in mind it's sold as drain cleaner / toilet descaler. "Use in well ventilated areas or outdoors" - so they want me to move the the WC to the garden ??
The stone is a piece of dressed granite, the mask is self-adhesive vinyl stencil sheet. The acid is intended to etch lettering. I've seen it on YT

[Jdsk]

Gloves and eyewear all on stand-by.

I'd also have a couple of buckets of water to hand.

Jonathan

[Audax67]

Watch it with hydrochloric acid! Years ago when my wife was doing an OU geology course she had to use HCl. When she was done she left the bottle, top screwed on, on the shelf in the workshop where I keep my routers. Imagine my joy next day at finding them covered in rust.

[CliveyT]

I was always intrigued by Aqua Regia. How did that name come about.

It’s because it is powerful/ royal/ noble enough to dissolve the noble metals.

Jonathan

which came in very useful

http://smbc-comics.com/comic/2011-05-29