Etching steel boxes? (Raco)

[Taylor]

I found a wonderfully weird box at my local hardware store. Of course, it's actually some kind of home electrical unit, and I think there's even some... something inside (obviously the guys there frown on me taking apart their wares until I buy them). 

It's basically like a huge Raco box, probably about 10" by 10". Only 17 bucks, because it appears to have been sitting there since the Carter administration when that was a sizable sum of dough.

Anyway, I've got a project that I want to put in it, and was thinking of etching it as that's how I've been doing all my boxes lately. But I'm not certain how etching steel will compare to aluminum. I use muriatic/peroxide etchant. Anyone have experience etching the flat side of a Raco box or similar, or know how steel will react to the cupric acid?

[petemoore]

  "etch galvanized steel''
 It's probably galvanized.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5997436_etch-galvanized-steel.html

[defaced]

Assuming uncoated steel (not galvanized or otherwise plated).  I doubt it's going to do what you want it to do (make a relief like it does in the aluminum), but yes, you can etch steel with the muratic/peroxide solution.  The metallography labs I use during my day job use that etchant on a regular basis for steels.  You will get to see the grain structure of the material, which may or may not be interesting - depends on the alloy and how it was processed. 

[MarcoMike]

steel is quite a general term... it could be almost anything... from stainless steel to galvanized "iron"

in any case, chlorides are not good at all for iron alloys, and the result will probably look like crap.

there are some other techniques available, like the ones used for drawings and writings on steel stoves, fridges, and so on.... but they are all very alloy-specific.

[Taylor]

The Raco boxes are galvanized, it looks like, and although I don't know if this is Raco brand, it looks exactly the same as one, so I'd guess so. It looks like it could probably be done, but would be difficult and would probably come out bad. I'll probably just do something else.