Anyone tried DIY copper electroplating?

[alex robinson]

As the title says! I was looking for some copper shelf brackets and none of the few that are available took my fancy. Got me wondering how difficult it would be to try some DIY electroplating. I would prefer not to go down the cyanide route, although I know the results would be better. Has anyone tried with copper sulphate, and if so onto what substrate? Stainless or galvinised? A quick look at the internet would suggest either should be possible, but may need a nickel striking solution to get a good coating.

 

[MARK.B.]

Never tried it but was thinking that if using galvanized steel would there be issues caused by whatever ingredients make up the galvanising

 

[Sideways]

As a schoolboy, trying it with copper sulphate solution, I remember that the plating wasn't very durable and rubbed off easily.

It is very easy to have a go and I would guess that the internet has advice to offer about getting the copper to stick.

 

[Droogs]

The more highly polished the substrate the better the result and it needs to be scrupulously clean when you put it in the solution.

The chap below has the best how to plating channel on the tube. he has done some remarkable stuff
https://www.youtube.com/c/KovancaPolock

 

[alex robinson]

I am definitely going to have a go. I always take YouTube videos with a pinch of salt as they have such an incentive to look good, but it looks fun and there is nothing to loose.

 

[Fergie 307]

Done a fair bit of copper electroplating using a brush kit, never on stainless or galvanised though. I would have thought both would present some problems.

 

[sploo]

I've recently attempted nickel plating of some old router plane parts. The results on small items were pretty good. The plane body itself was harder but wasn't terrible.

If doing copper is the same it's quite feasible.

 

[alex robinson]

Done a fair bit of copper electroplating using a brush kit, never on stainless or galvanised though. I would have thought both would present some problems.

Depending on who you listen to on the internet, problems would seem to range from minor to insurmountable! Brush plating looks interesting - I had never heard of it before. Really neat way of doing long bits.

 

[alex robinson]

I've recently attempted nickel plating of some old router plane parts. The results on small items were pretty good. The plane body itself was harder but wasn't terrible.

If doing copper is the same it's quite feasible.

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This is good to hear. Pictures from a fellow forum member are a lot more heartening than the accounts of brilliant success on a random website I had been finding.

When you say problems, do you mean uneven or difficult to get it to go on at all? As the copper would only be decorative a bit of "character" isn't a downside at all!

 

[ajs]

I held off responding to this because I remembered I had some notes on this from a legendary model locomotive builder. Dug them out just now and they aren't as extensive as I remembered, the only takeaway I get from them is a very smooth supply is needed, he said to use batteries rather than a power supply. 1.5v is fine.

He was plating on brass so some some zinc there, I don't know metallurgy so can't comment on it being alloyed rather than an elemental layer as for galvanising would make any difference. He made locos for Pendon museum where they get very heavy use, if there had been any wear issues he would have flagged it up.

From my own limited experience and memory I would say be mindful of the thickness - it's the kind of thing where you initially get a fairly even but incredibly thin layer that wears very quickly - you need to carry on long past the point it looks like you have a solid layer. If you have some fairly accurate scales I'd suggest weighing before and after to get a rough idea how thick the copper is - you'll probably have to do some rough sums to get an estimate of the area involved. As a data point the most common copper thickness on printed circuit boards is at 1oz/sq ft which gives a layer 35um thick. That's a very tough, solid layer. I doubt you need to go that thick but would probably aim for 10um or thereabouts.

 

[Jarno]

Would like to try nickel plating myself, as the lever caps of a few of my planes are in quite a sorry state....
I would definitely recommend not using batteries, it is quite a lengthy process, using batteries is not exactly sustainable.
I a very clean supply is needed, one could have a look at a regulated supply. Or, with a three pin regulator like LM317 you can also make a regulated current source which I think is even better, a bit of electronics involved though (though not much, the regulator, a few resistors, maybe a few capacitors).

 

[Noel]

I've recently attempted nickel plating of some old router plane parts. The results on small items were pretty good. The plane body itself was harder but wasn't terrible.

If doing copper is the same it's quite feasible.

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Got a picture of the finished items Sploo?

 

[Fergie 307]

Would like to try nickel plating myself, as the lever caps of a few of my planes are in quite a sorry state....
I would definitely recommend not using batteries, it is quite a lengthy process, using batteries is not exactly sustainable.
I a very clean supply is needed, one could have a look at a regulated supply. Or, with a three pin regulator like LM317 you can also make a regulated current source which I think is even better, a bit of electronics involved though (though not much, the regulator, a few resistors, maybe a few capacitors).

I have a cheap Chinese 3-12v variable voltage power supply, about £10. Works a treat on its lowest setting for most things. The workpiece needs to be spotlessly clean, you can buy cleaning solutions but I generally use mechanical means, wire wool etc, followed by an alcohol wash in an ultrasonic cleaner. If you get a streaky or blotchy finish when you start plating its usually a sign that the workpiece isn't clean. For dip plating I usually leave the work piece in the solution for at least 5 minutes. Same applies if brush plating, you will see the plating develop very quickly but it will be very thin. You need to keep going if you want a finish that will take any wear. It's important to keep agitating the solution regularly, and you need to move the work around as dip plating in a container you will get more material deposited on the side nearest the electrode. One thing you have to remember is that many plating solutions deteriorate rapidly in air. Always a good idea to keep them somewhere cool and dark, and get some plain glass marbles to replace the used liquid so the air space left in the bottle is as small as possible.

 

[throbscottle]

Oooh ooohhh! I actually do copper electroplating! Onto... copper! But I had to learn a fair bit to do it adequately.

So, what I do is through-hole plating of PCBs, which if you don't know, means drilling a lot of very small (sub-mm) holes in a piece of double sided copperclad board (the substrate is made of GRP), forcing conductive paint through the holes so it coats the inside (which is the part I am having problems with, but that's another story), cleaning the board to a very high standard, and sticking it in the plating tank. (Afterwards it gets etched so the holes form connections between tracks on both sides)

What I do is acid based plating, using a solution of sulphuric acid, copper sulphate, and some commercial additives which make a nice smooth shiny plate and ensures the holes get plated through. I bought a kit for the purpose, now hard to get because of the laws restricting the purchase of acid due to completely brain-dead acid attack sh**head scum for which I do not possess sufficiently derogatory vocabulary.

Since you are wanting to plate ferrous parts, you need to use alkali based plating solution. I don't know why, but you can't acid plate iron and steel directly with copper. It has to be plated with some other metal first. Using alkali based solution overcomes this problem and you can plate directly.

Cleaning. If cleaning is not very thorough, the plating will peel off. I had this problem the first time I did it on what I thought was an immaculately clean board. So first you have to abrasively clean the board with detergent, so it's spotless. Except that's not clean enough. Next you have to soak it in caustic soda. After a good rinse, it's still not good enough. You also have to pickle the part. With non-ferrous metals, this means a good dunk in hydrochloric acid. Less than a minute is adequate. Then rinse, dry, and plate. With ferrous metals I know you still have to pickle them, but I don't know what acid you'd use.

Prior to the invention of magic additives to the plating solution, PCR was used (periodic current reversal). If you plate using plain DC, you get a lumpy dull coating. If you provide a mixture of DC and AC, the result is much better.

Slightly remembering my secondary school chemistry - copper plating of steel produces the opposite effect of zinc plating. So where zinc corrodes instead of the steel in galvanisation, the steel corrodes instead of the copper if copper plating has been used - which is why copper plated paper clips go rusty so quickly.

Hope this is of some use.

 

[Cooper]

Slightly remembering my secondary school chemistry - copper plating of steel produces the opposite effect of zinc plating. So where zinc corrodes instead of the steel in galvanisation, the steel corrodes instead of the copper if copper plating has been used - which is why copper plated paper clips go rusty so quickly.

Does that explain why my steel (looks like) brass coated kitchen cupboard hinges haven't aged as well as the pine doors? (They have rusted)

Martin

 

[alex robinson]

From my own limited experience and memory I would say be mindful of the thickness - it's the kind of thing where you initially get a fairly even but incredibly thin layer that wears very quickly - you need to carry on long past the point it looks like you have a solid layer.

Having a figure on the thickness which would be ideal is good to know. I hope that they won't see much wear once put up as it is just for the look (and because it seems an interesting experiment).

Since you are wanting to plate ferrous parts, you need to use alkali based plating solution. I don't know why, but you can't acid plate iron and steel directly with copper. It has to be plated with some other metal first. Using alkali based solution overcomes this problem and you can plate directly.

Is this just a case of adding something alkaline like some sodium hydroxide in the solution instead of the sulphuric?

Prior to the invention of magic additives to the plating solution, PCR was used (periodic current reversal). If you plate using plain DC, you get a lumpy dull coating. If you provide a mixture of DC and AC, the result is much better.

I was thinking of using a cut up usb cable. Would briefly reversing the polarity from time to time be good enough, or is greater precision needed? I am trying to make something pretty, but unlike you or the other posters in this thread, not actually anything functional!

 

[John Hall]

This company can supply everything you need
https://www.caswelleurope.co.uk/electroplating/
loads of info on YouTube

 

[sploo]

Got a picture of the finished items Sploo?

Sure...

I started with a box of white vinegar and a little salt, and two strips of nickel:

Over a period of several hours the nickel anode strip slowly dissolved into the solution. I understand the black dots left in the bottom are the tiny percentage of the material that isn't pure nickel. Apparently some people put the anode into a mesh cloth to keeps the particles out of the solution:

Small items plated quite well (in the second photo below, the left knob is plated, the one on the right isn't). Both were cleaned with a wire wheel then washed in white spirit:

I notice that sharp edges and protruding areas "pick up" more than others (likely to do with how the current flows through the solution):

I later bought some more nickel strips in order to get a more even coverage, and with the voltage set a bit too high it certainly stirs the solution up (the bottles were just there to raise the level of the solution in the tub):

Some more plating of small items:

As noted, the small items plate fairly well; though there are still issues of uneven coverage and staining; possibly due to the shape, possibly due to me not cleaning the parts sufficiently:

The body itself wasn't great; the "protruding" areas that saw the most activity (bubbling) sometimes have the coating flake off:

The base was pretty good, but again flaked on the edges:

My take home from the above is that you'll likely get better results if the parts are really smooth (I didn't want to go crazy with a sander on a 100+ year old plane), and I probably should have been more thorough with several stages of cleaning and drying.

I've heard that some people use a magnetic stirrer to agitate the solution (for more even coverage). I wasn't going to try that as apparently the little black bits in the solution can get caught on a part and then covered. Had I got a cloth "sock" on the anode that wouldn't be a problem.

I read something about the required current per unit area of parts, and whilst I could easily do that with a bench supply on the smaller parts, the plane body was beyond what I could deliver. However; seeing how aggressive the bubbling could be I do wonder if a lower current and a really long time (and plenty of stirring/turning) would work better.

One final thing: a vinegar + salt solution is really corrosive; any metal used in the area will rust really quickly. It actually "ate" a small chunk out of the bottom of my power supply's metal cover - so be careful.

 

[Noel]

Thanks @sploo , very interesting. One small point- once plated are there any problems with the threads? Will nuts/adjusters etc still happily screw on?

 

[sploo]

Thanks @sploo , very interesting. One small point- once plated are there any problems with the threads? Will nuts/adjusters etc still happily screw on?

No issues. Whether it's because the coating is thin, or the existing threads are worn sufficiently that the coating doesn't matter, I'm not sure.

I restored two router planes, and one uses screws (rather than rods + brass nuts) for the knobs. The original screws couldn't be saved so I'll be making new ones at some point. It'll be interesting to see if a close fitting new thread will be affected by the nickel plating; though I'm hoping the plating will be better as newly made screws won't have any rust pitting.