Correlation between the grain orientation dependence of color etching and chemical etching.

A gray cast iron specimen was investigated by color and chemical etching with optical and atomic force microscopy, and the effect of grain orientation on the effectiveness of etching was examined. It was proven that the grain orientation dependence of chemical and color etching is just the opposite, and that the specimen surface after color etching is not uniformly smooth. Explanation for the layer structure of the color etched iron specimen is given.