Experiment: Champlevé, Vitreous Enameled Copper Alloy Medallions

EK, Order of the Golden Rapier (OGR)
Etched, Champlevé Enamel, High Polish

Last year I etched these Copper Alloy designs and used them in an experiment by enameling them with Thompson Enamel's opaque vitreous enamels to see if they interacted well enough to use in future projects. Since I wasn't sure what the results would be, I didn't want to risk a good piece, so I used several failed etches.

Last week I set up my new polishing station with my 3M Radial Bristle Disks and polished them up. Here are the results which I feel are a success.

I did wet pack the pieces with enamel by adding a bit of distilled water. Since I was in a bit of time crunch I didn't add a bit more water and pull the solution into the corners to try and take advantage of Capillary Action. My Laurel brought his kiln to an event and we only had the space for a short while for our tests. In future I will definitely play with capillary action to get into every tiny area.

A quick way to remove a bit of water from a wet packed area is to gently touch a corner of a paper towel or tissue to soak up a bit of water. The piece must be completely dry before placing it in the kiln otherwise there's a risk of the water boiling off and popping/shaking the enamel off the piece.

Above, Right: Pieces sawed out
Above, Far Left: After they've been filed and sanded, but before polishing.

Bottom: The 2" × 6" plaque with both resists still on and after being removed 

from the etchant and neutralized with a solution of baking soda and water.

The Black areas are the TTP resist once it's reacted with the etchant, you can 
remove it either with Acetone or sanding it off.

Metals Etched: Red Brass (CDA#230) and Nickle Silver (CDA#752)
Plaques: 16 Gauge, 2" × 6" plaque
Etchant: Ferric Chloride, at room temperature
Resist: Toner Transfer Paper (TTP) and nail polish

Polishing Tools: 3M Radial Bristle Disks
Disk diameter: 1" and 3", both using 6 disks on a spindle
Grits: 80, 120, 220, 400, 6 micron, and 1 micron

Please Note: I found that the 80 and 120 grits damaged the surface of the enamel. I suggest using 220 and finer.

Artwork: Except for the Order of the Laurel medallion everything else that is within a circle is an award of the East Kingdom. The small rectangles are Populace Badges for the Principality of the Mists, Kingdom of the West.

This is how it came out of the kiln after it was enameled, you can see
the oxidation that needs to be removed using a mild acid referred
to as pickle in the jewelry industry.

East Kingdom, Order of the Silver Crescent
The same enameled piece after it's been pickled and neutralized. It requires to be polished before it is complete.

East Kingdom, Order of the Silver Brooch
After polishing. I have already tweaked the artwork after it was etched.

Order of the Laurel, After polishing.
I will tweak the artwork to reduce the number of leaves and spread them
out a bit. This should increase the recessed areas and allow for easier
wet packing which will also let the design pop more.

Links
My Copper Alloy Table on my A&S website with information on the last row about which Copper Alloys work best for Vitreous Enameling.

MY Class Handouts on my A&S website with a handout for my etching class.

Metals Suitable for Enameling by Woodrow Carpenter © Glass On Metal, Vol. 5, No. 6, June 1986