Hi, Peter!

Most etching fluids require an immersion of at least 24 hours. If that doesn't work... Have you tried just plain old distilled white vinegar..?

Good Luck!

Hi, Peter!!!

Here is an alternative method. It sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is:

You can also try "roughing up" the PE's surfaces by gently sanding them with some fine sand paper or Emery Cloth while they are still attached to their frets. A gentle hand is needed when doing this. Sand BOTH sides. Once you're done sanding, and using a pair of tweezers, dip the entire frets into a small, wide-mouthed jar of 91% or 100% denatured alcohol to remove any sanding residue, finger-prints and natural skin oils, and let them air-dry by placing them on a paper towel or un-scented facial tissue.

After the PE frets have dried, follow that up by applying a very light coat of Flat Gray or Dark Gray Auto Primer in the spray can, which is available in Auto Supply stores and in the "Auto sections" of department stores. Remember to spray BOTH sides of the PE- This will give your PE just a little bit more "tooth", which will aid you in attaching the PE to your model. You can use CA glue to attach your PE to your model. I prefer the "Gel"-type, as it dries a little slower than regular CA glue. Let the PE dry thoroughly, before you start cutting the parts away from their frets. I suggest that you wear tight-fitting rubber (nitrile) surgical gloves when working with PE, and/or all of your model-building, in order to prevent your natural skin oils from coming into contact with your work. These gloves are usually found in your local drug store (chemist's), in the First Aid sections. Personally, I like to pre-wipe my subjects down with the above-mentioned alcohol before I apply my primers...

DON'T use steel wool or scouring pads of any kind! The fibers will catch on your PE's smaller parts and damage them, or tear them off the frets altogether!

The advantages in using this method are that you will avoid unnecessary waiting-time, possibly messy clean-ups, and in the case of "specialized" burnishing fluids, lots of extra expense. Anything that is supposedly "specialized" is going to be needlessly expensive- Makers of these products fully realize that modellers will pay through their noses for this kind of stuff- It's called, "Making a heavy PROFIT"...

Many modellers do not realize that they can do the same job with stuff that's available in their local department store or supermarket for substantially LESS MONEY...

(IMO, no modellers' work-stations should be without the above-mentioned products as a matter of course...)