etching stainles steel?

[unjust]

so this is sort of off topic, but the eventual project will fall back on topic, but long story short i'll need to ~precision etch some thin stainless steel (feeler gauge). (needs straight thin lines in locations i want, and can define in CAD software) how doable is that?

[Olson Burry]

My guess is you've seen Vitti's guide on making falle style wrenches using salt water etching, which actually works well for its purpose.

The problem is, especially if you're making thin lines, that the etching will tend to crawl under the protective layer and can be a bit unpredictable.

If youre using thin stock, is there any way you could use a dremel and cut off wheels to get the right result? The brown disks are pretty thin if you use them singly.

If you could make some kind of jig so you get the lines really straight it might be your best bet.

This really isn't my forte so I may be well off.

[Engineer]

How fine and how precise do you need the markings? I think I can guess what it's for. Acrylic paint will get you some nice deep black markings and if you go into making more, you could even make a little silk screen to make it a little easier.

The only problem is that even acrylic can wear off after a while. If you don't mind more of a dark grey than black, you can acid-etch with cerrous sulphate solution I believe - The stuff used for etching copper-clad circuit boards and might still be available from Radio Shack? Basically you use a water-resistant pen to cover up everything you don't want etching and use some alcohol to remove the ink after etching.