Welding Tips and Tricks

I am a beginner and would like to cut and etch my stick welds to save my progress. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on a cheap way to polish the cut. Also does anyone know a cheap way to etch every thing I have found has been to expensive for what I will be doing.

I have now found a way to etch but dose anyone have any cheap polishing tricks.

this guy on youtube has done some very cheap etching methods, I highly recommend you check him out. Go to YouTube and do a search for "welding tips and tricks etching", and you'll get some neat hits!

I’m new to the forum, so apologies in advance for asking dumb or basic questions. I’ve been trying to cut and etch some MIG-welded T-joints in 1/4” carbon steel so that I can assess the degree of penetration that I get with different settings. I’ve watched videos on this subject on Welding Tips and Tricks, but for the life of me can’t get etch results that look anything like those that Jody gets. When I etch (using Naval Jelly), the weld beads darken, but the base metals remain shiny - as though they hadn’t been exposed to the etchant at all.

Can anyone hazard a guess as to what I’m doing wrong?