Making gallon makers inside kettle

[surista]

I have a great 5-gallon stainless steel kettle with a tap, thermometer, and false bottom.
It does't have scale markings however. What's the best way to add some marks on the inside of the pot without wrecking anything?

[jaroporter]

electro etching is one way

[StrontiumDog]

This is the way I'll be doing it when I get round to it;

https://byo.com/project/etch-your-kettle-projects/

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[surista]

This is the way I'll be doing it when I get round to it;
https://byo.com/project/etch-your-kettle-projects/

I have zero D.I.Y. sense but that looks easy enough even for me! Perfect, just what I was looking for - txs.

[surista]

Just updating this - I tried out the 'vinegar/salt + battery' etch solution yesterday and it worked friggen' awesome!
Got everything all marked up inside the vessel - most of the lines are even straight - and my daughter added a picture of a dog from a stencil we had lying around. Even my wife was impressed.

[StrontiumDog]

Just updating this - I tried out the 'vinegar/salt + battery' etch solution yesterday and it worked friggen' awesome!
Got everything all marked up inside the vessel - most of the lines are even straight - and my daughter added a picture of a dog from a stencil we had lying around. Even my wife was impressed.

That looks awesome! Do you have a pic of the inside? How did you do your lines?

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[Trefoyl]

Some tips I can give is that the stencil does not need to be a perfect mask or adhesive. Etching only occurs where the cotton bud / Q-Tip touches the metal. Vinegar will drip everywhere but that’s OK. It was really sizzling, and the cotton discolors immediately but I don’t think it matters how dirty it gets. It was black when I was done.
I used an old 9 volt phone charger with the wires stripped. Positive was taped to the outside of the pot on the side I was etching. Negative is wrapped around the cotton. I kept the cotton well soaked in solution.

It’s real pain in the arse working down inside the pot. I have that much more respect for the BYO demonstration guy keeping everything so perfect. His idea of tape when marking the water measurements is better than the pencil I used.
I also had to go out and get 1/2 inch tape to mask the lines because the 1 inch wide roll that I had was too wide and cutting that in half wasn’t working well.