The effect of grain orientation on the effectiveness of pre-etching before color etching was investigated by the help of electron back scattering diffraction and atomic force microscopy in case of cast iron. Strong correlation was found between the angle between the specimen normal and the [001] orientation of the ferrite grains and the depth of the etching. If the angle between the specimen normal and the [001] direction of the ferritic grain is small, then the speed of the etching is low, but the lateral variation of the etching speed within the grain is larger.