Another Electro-Etch Question for Bob

Bob, I've been to your website and I've made both the electro etch unit, and the stencil developing box. I've also received my stencil material, and I've made a stencil with my mark. The stencil came out nice and sharp.

My problem is that I don't know how to properly use the electro etch unit. I'm using the electrolyte for "All Steels" from IMG. When I tried to etch my logo onto a piece of steel, I pretty much just burned the stencil up. I set the unit to "DC" and I would put the pad down for about 2 to 3 seconds and remove it for a few seconds. It didn't look like anything was happening but my stencil melting. The blade would start sizzling as soon as the pad touched it. After a few times I switched to AC, but it was pretty much too late.

One thing that I don't know is how to use the electrolyte. Do I just soak the felt pad down before starting the etch? Also, what kind of felt should I be using. I'm currently using the sheets of felt that you can get from Wal-Mart for about $0.20. Do you think my etcher could be putting out too much current? I made it using all of the Radio Shack part numbers that you supply on your web site. One more thing, how long should I wait before using the stencil after I take it out of the developer?

Please tell me how I need to go about using the electro etch unit correctly.

Thanks for the info and for your time. -chris