This weekend, I finally got around to etching my boil kettle. Here are some notes that may help others.

Then I used the Brew Your Own instructions here to etch the level lines. The instructions were clear and the process was simple.

One thing I learned was to make sure the wire on the Q-tip is forward enough to immediately contact the solution in the area being etched. It wasn’t enough for it to be in contact with the Qtip that was immersed in the vingear+salt solution. A sign that I had it right was good, vigorous bubbling while swiping the soaked Qtips against the stainless.

Today, I just marked the level lines. Later, I may add numerals if I can find appropriate stencils.

Yesterday, I places the locations for the stencils using a bottling bucket that had volume levels marked in half-gallon increments. The bucket had a spigot, and I made sure to evalcuate all the water in the hose I had attached to the spigot before marking the level.

Marking the level had been a challenge. I’d tried it before with a grease pencil, but the stainless wouldn’t take the mark well. This time, before adding any water to the kettle, I ran a vertical line from the bottom of the pot using a black grease pencil. Then, as I filled the kettle, I used a yellow grease pencil to mark the levels on the black vertical line, and that worked very well.