It's VERY cheap -- I paid $1.74 for a gallon and you can reuse it and you can also use bit -- fill it to the full size of your  chicken egg. 

Container should be about a quart size.  A separate container sitting outside right along side the muriatic acid must be same size and you must fill it at least halfway with water. 

Never pour down a sink as it will corrode your steel or PVC or whatever pipe material you are using.

The simplest is this:  Use an old-fashioned ink pen of, if you do pysanky, the small tip.   Use wax and put a dark color in it so you can see where you've gotten the wax and can "fix" any wax that gets where it shouldn't by making something larger or making it look like you wanted that wax there.

Your project is this:  On this chicken egg (emptied as you do in regular egging), write your best friend's name and surround it with a heart (with a pencil).

Next, take your wax which is heated and "runny" and carefully paint over your marks.  You can do only one small line at a time.   When egg is completely covered with the wax where you want it to be, go outside to where you've placed your acid and water.   Dip the egg into the muriatic acid for TWO minutes ONLY.

Take if out and with your gloved fingers, wipe off all egg that will be like a light crust.  Then place it into the water and make sure the water gets inside, too, as it will eat away the egg inside also if the acid got inside.   Again the egg into the muriatic acid for TWO minutes ONLY.

Take if out and with your gloved fingers, wipe off all egg that will be like a light crust.  Then place it into the water and make sure the water gets inside, too, as it will eat away the egg inside also if the acid got inside.   Lastly, dip the egg into the muriatic acid for ONE minutes ONLY.

Take if out and with your gloved fingers, wipe off all egg that will be like a light crust.  Then place it into the water and make sure the water gets inside, too, as it will eat away the egg inside also if the acid got inside.

Voila, you have an astonishingly beautiful egg that probably only took you 10 to 15 minuets to make.      Now, there's a lot more to this wonderful deal and it is almost like pysanky, but NOT.   It's fun and easy but precautions need to be taken. 

......I've been reading about all your results with the muriatic acid etching technique. I can see where the full-strength acid for a minute or two would be fine on the thicker eggs such as emu, rhea and ostrich.   But it seems too strong for the thin shelled eggs like chicken and duck.

......I just read an article in the Home section of our newspaper where a homeowner needed to refinish his garage floor and they said he should etch the existing CEMENT with 1 PART muriatic acid to 4 PARTS WATER and then add another 1 inch layer of cement. If that is sufficient to etch CEMENT than it would certainly do the job on an egg shell.

........I suggest you try diluting the muriatic acid with water. That would give you a little edge, a little more time. You could always put it back in. It's better than a crumpled egg. Right? Just keep a note of what you did for reference.

While I can appreciate the economy of muriatic, does it outweigh the risks? I've been using the "Works" made for showers for years, diluted to a 20%(?) solution (1 part Works, 4 parts water) it cuts quickly, does NOT pit the shell, and is safe enough that I can put my hand into the solution.

And as with any of these acids it can be used over and over until it's neutralized by the chemical reaction between shell and acid.

One caution about Works though. For a while their formula changed from phosphoric acid to citric and it didn't work as well. (EPA on their backs???) Lately I see they've returned to phosphoric, but there may still be some of the old stuff on the shelves.

From Debbie.... Well here's my first Muriatic duck egg and it was so much fun. Because I was only working on one side of my egg I decided not to dip the whole egg (I wanted to keep the shell stronger). I carefully poured some Muriatic acid in a small jar. Then I used those long Q-tips for dipping in the acid (the Q-tips are used for cleaning VCR's). I had to leave the acid on longer than what Ronnee said but I think that was because the egg wasn't being dipped. When you take the wax off you have beautiful raised affect. I then took a brown oil paint and rub it on with a cloth until nothing was left but the lines. Sorry about the picture but it was just laid on the scanner (the lines are brown not black). Now I just have to learn how to add color.

Etched duck egg by Debbie Fodor