Easy And Inexpensive Copper Plating Trick!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ก.ย. 2013
- Simple, cheap, and reliable way to copper plate metals.
This video is just an "extra" info video for the nickel/copper plating video at:
• Easy Nickel And Copper...
Please check out the the main video for a more in depth instructional.
Thanks!
Just got this from a plater regarding stacking cells in parallel:
Hello,
I watched your copper plating video and then went to your site where someone suggested wiring batteries in parallel to achieve higher amperage and thus increase plating time.
in the discussion of amperage one needs to observe the ohms law. To be more accurate the resistance of the liquid that the plating is done in, needs to be known. Because current can be increased two ways. One way is to decrease resistance ( use a liquid with lower resistance) the other way is to increase voltage. You cannot just increase amperage by putting batteries in parallel unless the resistance of the liquid is so low that the battery cannot supply the amperage in which case it goes dead very fast.
Music Attribution:
Chee Zee Lab Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Plucky Daisy Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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Copper sulfate pentahydrate is the same chemical as Copper sulfate. Pentahydrate means that for every molecule of copper sulfate there are 5 molecules of water. That's why they write CuSO4 * 5 H2O.
Mihajlo Petkovic awesome science fact. Keep up the good work.
Fun fact for those who care to know CuSO4 * 5 H2O is blue... if you put it in a drying over to vaporise off the H2O the powder turns white.
^ What he said (Mihajlo Petkovic). I came here to tell you that, but he beat me to it. :)
Just priced it @ $38. for 32 oz
grade 10 chemistry
I don't know if anyone's addressed the peel problem, but I'll try...
Unfabricated metals are always sold with some sort of masking oil - it needs a good degreasing. Some kind of solvent or hot water with detergent, then a good drying. I mean obsessively clean.
If it isn't spotless, it will laminate instead of bonding (that's the peeling).
And don't buff it (this isn't chrome)
Copper sulfate for your purposes is the same as copper sulfate pentahydrate.
Pentahydrate means the crystals have 5 molecules of water for each CuSo4. Which is the way most copper sulfate comes to begin with. Also look at Blue stone (CuSO4) and other sources CuSO4 can be purchased cheeply at many hardware stores and feed and seed stores. Blue Stone (CuSo4) is used to soak horse hoofs to kill fungus, hoof rot.
Thanks!
+stancurtin thanks for the awesome info, i have a variable power supply so is any voltage good enough? and is the higher voltage gonna be a faster plate?
Copper sulfate is white when it is not pentahydrate, so if the other copper sulfate you used it blue, it is already copper sulfate pentahydrate
H
your voice would be good for radio or tv commercials
+pagefour217
Sounds a bit like Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs.
I agree, great pipes!
Talks too much.
He's got the perfect voice for audio books.
i could listen to your voice all day. thanks so much for the video i can't wait to try this! 😊
Your voice is so calming, you have no idea. Thanks for the video, I'll be trying this out for sure! Roooot Killllll....
A few things - voltage is not the thing to worry about, its the current per area of the thing you are plating. Figure out the area of the thing you are plating (for a coin, both sides) and then set your voltage to get a current of about 0.15 amps per square inch. If you have a fixed voltage (like 3 volts) move the electrodes closer or farther apart to get the right current (you will need a current meter). You don't have to be fanatic about the current, just close.
For example, a penny, both sides, has an area of 0.88 square inches, so you need about 132 milliamps. A quarter is about 1.43 square inches so you need about 215 ma. Higher currents give you orange copper gunk, higher yet give you black copper gunk.
Cleanliness is a MUST. Nothing sticks unless you clean it. I scrub everything with baking soda and water paste, and scrub hard and then rinse. Use a toothbrush if necessary. Then don't touch the object with your fingers, ever. Baking soda is good for polishing the object after plating too.
I also play around with patina on the copper. Liver of sulfur in water (until its pale yellow) works great, slosh a CLEANED plated obect until it gets dark but not black (takes a minute), then rinse quick and baking soda clean it, then some vegetable oil, and rub the oil off as much as you can. It gives that brown look of an old penny.
Can you give me the ratio with metric system?
@Kelly Marie you can, but you have to paint the surface with something conductive. There are special conductive paints for electroplating, usually made with graphite.
Thank you for the math behind the mad science here. Now I got some things that need plating.
So I got a lab DC power supply. When I set the current to 0.1A, the voltage jumps to 24V and the jar looks like a boiling pot! Are you sure you didn't miss a couple of zeros in the data above? I get the minimum amount of bubbles with 0.01A and 0.8V
Yep. DJ Gold. Radio personality voice. A natural.
Or podcast. Vlog. Narrator. Books on tape reader. Hypnotist. Speaker in general.
God gift.
hey i like your idea. in chemistry all the "pentahydrate" means is copper-sulfate or cupricsulfate crystals are hygroscopic. means it absorbs water from the atmosphere. if you had one molecule of cupricsulfate it has absorbed 5 molecules of water. this gives a blue color to the crystal. when you add water and dissolve the crystals you now have more water then the crystal can contain so you basically have the same solution you were originally after and usually the contaminants are only a few %. more or less you have a clean solution. the impurities are mineral salts that were introduced to the water from running through pipes. hope that clears some things up. great video great experiment.
Papa Midnight
I love this method, thank you very much. I have a lot of fun with copper plating.
Terrific video...thank you. I too love your voice and hope you keep posting these extremely helpful videos.
Thanks so much, you've made my day!
Sir, you are an amazing teacher. Thank you.
Great video. Worked perfectly for what I needed to do
I wondered what I can use instead of copper sulfate. So I used Epsom salt instead. The magnesium sulfate solution was then used with 2 copper plates at each end. The solution became copper sulfate after the first attempt!
The magnesium was replaced with copper in the sulfate!
There you have it, use Epsom salt which is even cheaper and extract the copper sulfate solution after the first electroplating.
use very little Epsom salt (about a tsp), as it precipitates at the bottom.
Good luck.
How cool! Thanks for the tutorial!
Can you do a video on chrome plating? Loved your copper and nickel plating videos!!!
Thank You..I am going to try and copper plate/etch some designs on a chef's knife and this method seems to be VERY easy for that.
Awesome! Gave it a go on some lead bullets and provided and excellent barrier for a high velocity load
Haha that's why im hear!
Also you can use any type of planning food ie miracle gro. Copper sulfate is used in the manufacturing of almost every granulated plant food available to the consumer! Great video!
wanna hear a funny story?
I live in Australia & couldn't find this product or anything close to it at any of the major Hardware or Home & Garden super franchises, my last point of call was my local Stock & feed agent (farming suppliers) they had the Copper Sulfate crystals for just $3.80 per pound! :O lol
That's great! I've been experimenting with acid/ solid copper mixes as well, after seeing those in other videos, and may add yet another plating video showing those... I mention it because it makes copper plating possible with nothing but ULTRA cheap pool chemicals. And, the plates I've tried so far have been really excellent!
Ha I was just goin to post the same MG. It is in Bunnings Hardware (Manutec "Bluestone") over near fertilizers and nutrients. No need for ROOT KILL! lols. BTW Great Vid. :)
where abouts did u pic up some copper sulphate mate? im in vic and cannot find one :'(
Bunnings
bobbavet haha yeah, NO, they give you half a kilo in a shiny plastic bottle & charge you over $10.
Good video, I like your enthusiasm. Thanks for sharing.
@sportster davidson, I agree totally, and apologize in advance of the novel below.
5:57 Penny #1 shows the plating line running vertical and covering almost all of Lincoln's head and face, and shows well over 50% of coin coverage. It is a 'wheat penny' but he doesn't show close enough for a date.
The video is stopped and "3 minutes later" . . .
6:53 Penny #2 clearly shows a different penny. Still a wheat penny, but the new plating line is at a diagonal from lower right of the coin to upper left running about through Lincoln's throat, and is about 50% coverage over the coin. His entire head is now unplated.
He then proceeds to the cleanup and a scrub to show how durable and deep the plating is.
7:17 through the entire cleaning and scrubbing process you can again see this is now a third different penny. The new plating line is now running pretty much straight horizontal through the collar area of Lincoln, and coin coverage less that 50%.
Good find 👍
Awesome share.. I am curious to how conductive the plating was. It would make all the difference if further projects I am developing with magnetism
Dark blue copper sulphate is always pentahydrate (CuSO4.5H2O). If there were no water molecules attached it would be a very pale blue powder. You can remove the water molecules by micowaving small amounts of the pentahydrate. However, when you dissolve either the hydrated or the anhydrous compounds in water, you get exactly the same thing.
Really well put together demo video ! Just a suggestion or two re: safety -- recommend latex gloves while handling chems or parts wetted with the chems. Safety glasses are a good idea too if you value your eyesight at all.
great job thanx
I watched your video on copper plating and followed your method precisely and surgically clean.
I polished a carbon-steel rod as a testpiece and plated for 3 minutes at 3 volts. I then varied the voltage & time but after 6 attempts I still got the same result: a beautiful copper coating that comes off with my fingernail leaving a black surface. I also watched your nickel plating video as I am trying to triple plate some parts of my vintage motorcycle.
I would be extremely grateful if you tell me where I'm going wrong.
Try cleaning with brake cleaner
needs to be plated with nickel first
This guys voice is *SO* silky smooth I might die.
Fantastic. I do want to Nickle plate some Bolts for Radial Arm Saw Cabinet that I am restoring. Thanks... Oh, I became a subscriber. Your cat friend can show up anytime.
Great Info! Thanks. Got a question for you tho. What thickness can you expect from this method?
thus the Bagdad battery could have been used for plating wow! thanks for sharing,
Awesome can't wait to try
I love your voice 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 Really really good.
its amazing man
Very well done👍 what happens If we increase the applied voltage and or root kill?
Thank you very much for the lesson.
You can also make your own copper acetate with household chemicals & scrap copper. Works great for plating.
I have been using this process for a while now, I to discovered root killer sometime back. Very cheap to use
AMAZING!!!! I am copper plating a Zippo lighter right now!! THANKS
I'm trying this now, though I see that bubbles are forming on my copper anode (a pipe)....I saw in another video that bubbles form on the negative and that's one way to tell which is which! Hmmm, I'll watch and wait. Thanks for the video!
Copper(ii) sulphate pentahydrate is just copper sulphate but with the addition of water; it is blue in colour. You can heat up the pentahydrate version to evaporate off the water to gain *anhydrous* copper sulphate which is white in colour. It is a reversible reaction.
_EDIT: Since dissolving anhydrous copper sulphate in water produces a blue solution of copper sulphate pentahydrate, you may aswell just buy the cheaper copper sulphate pentahydrate crystals._
Awesome video, but for those who are new to this… once the item is clean - don’t EVER touch it with your fingers! The grease and oils in your skin will prevent a good bond 🙂👍
Would this work for plating copper on to aluminum?
Dang Man!Where did you get that Voice? You have got to be in radio or TV broadcasting or you certainly need to be. Also, That copper plating technique and materials works like magic!Thanks a million!
GREAT' { EAGER" TO SEE SOME VIDEOS OF " BRASS " PLATING !!! .
Would this work somehow with through hole plating of a circuitboard/copper clad? Really nice video nonetheless! =D
I've heard the stuff you can pick up at hardware store is just as pure if not more so for less. I've been meaning to pick up some sodium hydroxide drain cleaner but haven't gotten around to it. I haven't tried the copper sulfate root kill either as I have plenty of it and doubt I'll need any soon but when I do I plan on trying it.
very clearly explained. thank you very much.
Fantastic.
Actually you got it right, Copper Sulphate need small quantity of water to CRYSTALISE. Without that water, the crystal wont form. The word Hydrate refers to the quantity of water in that crystal. You got the right material dude
Very interesting.
Have you any idea if this process would work on aluminum?
Aluminum forms a strongly adhering oxide layer practically immediately on exposure to air. This makes it difficult to plate any other metals to it. Should you somehow remove the oxide layer, aluminum will react rapidly with water to produce more aluminum oxide and releasing hydrogen.
Do you think it work better or not if you use wire instead of pipe since it's #1 copper instead of #2.
Thanks for your video
Great video... do you feel you could use this method to plate organic items? Ie seed pods etc for jewelry? Would you do them with a nickel coat first? Just wondering if you have any experience with such. Thanks!
Pentahydrate meants that the salt is bound to 5mols of water, absolutely normal
Thanks!
would this make a thicker plate if left in longer?
I'm trying to plate a steel Hammond box and I'm having a hard time. Can you help me out? I'm getting random spots of copper and it stays stainless steel in other places
Does it work on square roots and cube roots ?
great video but one question: say i mix up a batch of that and plate a few things. how long will the remainder of the solution last?
as long as you see color ... but if you just keep topping it back up it will plate ... the smaller amount of copper in solution the longer it will take to plate .. if you use copper sulfate with your acid and your plating item ... use a copper pipe as the anode still and you will keep a decent copper to liquid ratio during your plating process ... works great for circuit boards as well ;)
Thank u
Hellon thanks for the video.
Please does it very thin and doesn't affect thickness on brass ?
i'm trying it on my car key, just to see if it stays on for long :)
I like the appearance of the copper-plated kitty at the end. We have a copper-plated kitty and a nickel-plated kitty.
Yes...what a voice...nice!
nice job... will this method work with gold solution..??
Hi Walt; I understand that stainless steel is a poor conductor relative to copper, am I right? if that is the case, how do you best copper plate stainless steel? Thanks ;)
How well does this method work to copper plate stainless steel (after first doing a nickel strike), as far as getting a decent copper thickness & it's durability?
Thanks for the info! BTW "Cathode" is the positive terminal of a battery, not the negative.
+lauriloo38c I believe he was referring to the anode of the electrolytic cell, not the battery.
So is the acid not necessary then? Love that I may be able to do this without working with battery acid!!
Ok this is a great little trick, so my friend works at a scrap metal yard and I thought ok let's see if I can trick him into thinking I had a large amount of cooper, so here is what I did I used stainless steel piping and I used this same idea but on a much bigger scale, I used the Root Kill from the hardware store and I dumped in most of the bottle into a large plastic 45 gallon drum, I used my 12 volt battery charger with a cooper pipe, and all the stainless was hooked together, I left this running for 5 hours and when I came back to it I had all this great looking cooper piping. I then took it to the scrap yard, and of course they put the magnet to it to be sure it wasn't steel, stainless isn't magnetized they thought I had had 30 pounds of cooper, till I told him what I had done, so yeah this process works great.
Of course, there is irony in that stainless isn't cheap either.
@@kellyvcraig Stainless steel .50/lb Copper 2.25 lb
@@ProlificInvention, now, but at other times . . . .
@@kellyvcraig Yes, I used to be a dirty scrapper 😂 owned a little operation called Iron Duke Scrap and Salvage---I got a kick out of this guy's comment because I'm currently trying to copper plate stainless steel for a project, so I'm going to see if his suggestion works.
Can Copper Platting be done on Chrome? I love the copper look and use Copper plasti dip on my Harley Rims.... I would love to setup a project to Copper Plate my Harley Rims for more of a authentic look!!!
Thanks for great video.
Just wondering what size battery in a pen light or pin light that you describe?
Is that size AA or C or? Can I use different size batteries?
Also I am not sure how you have done your electric connection exactly as I cannot see the back side so is it possible to explain that? A diagram anywhere please?
Thanks!
Thank you for posting this.
Long live Teri-Ess Student Science Services.
Got a quick question, I couldn't tell from your video but are copper crystals forming on the copper wire that's holding the penny? I actually need to grow crystals on copper wire and I want to know if this process would work? Thank you in advance.
Copper sulphate Pentahydrate is just copper sulfate in its hydrated form. Anhydrous copper sulfate is a white solid but turns back to the blue hydrated form with a bit of water .
Can you do this to chrome? I am looking for a method to turn chrome car parts to copper or brass coating?
Copper Sulphate in it's crystalline form contains 5 water molecules in it's crystal lattice hence the name "Copper Sulphate Pentahydrate". You can relax because the material you've used is pure Copper Sulphate crystals. :)
Could you Zinc plate on top of the Copper plating and heat it up to get Brass plating as combination of the two?
Can we use this solution for electro etching too ?
You don´t need the copper sulfate. Just take either some ordinary tap water or distilled water and mix it with about 5% muriatic acid (31% plus acid content), connect your + to the copper piece and the - to the piece you wanna plate. 3V is ok but a 9V battery will work, too. Within 5-10 minutes, you´ll get a perfect copper plating. I´ve been using this method for years as you can easily solder iron parts with a copper plating.
Use this process to copper plate all the stainless in hospitals.
The surfaces of copper and its alloys, such as brass and bronze, are antimicrobial.
They have an inherent ability to kill a wide range of harmful microbes
relatively rapidly - often within two hours or less - and with a high
degree of efficiency.
I would like to see an experiment of copper plating stainless steel but using the Brush plating technique.
Nice video production koodos
I saw your video a while ago and decided to try it myself. What I'm doing is similar, except I was using baling wire (probably galvanized steel) for the cathode holder, and no matter what I put in it, be it a steel nail or a regular nickle, they all seem to just get copper deposits that almost look like black flakes and rust deposits that flake off when you shake it in the water. I haven't successfully gotten a good plate, and that's using a small power supply, an 8g copper wire as the anode, and roto rooter root kill, which is also 99% copper sulfate. Anything I'm missing? it does turn dark within seconds, but then more and more deposits just start accumulating. Thanks.
F Con you are applying too much power and trying to do it too fast, you need a current limited supply and use the correct voltage and correct current for the size of the piece you are trying to plate, if you cant find this information then lower is always better, it will take longer but it will plate instead of flaking off, unless you are trying to plate a large piece i would stick with 2 batteries as in the video, if not then you will need to limit the current and use the correct voltage, you could try using a rheostat with your power supply assuming the voltage isnt too high (below 6v preferably below 5v)and turn it up till a few bubbles start to appear on the surface then dial it back down a touch, if its fizzing like an alkersaltza you are way too high, if you are getting a plate that looks dull and like it would come off easy you are still too high, slow and steady wins the race
Hello :) I'm new to copper plating and I seriously have no idea where to purchase the thing the battery goes in or what it's called? sorry I know it's a dumb question 😂 please help, love your videos :)
You can get copper sulfate at most feed(farm animal stores)stores. Or as aquarium fish meds. Way cheaper and it's 100% copper sulfate unlike allot of those root killers so be careful
When copper sulphate crystallizes in water it forms the pentahydrate type molecule (penta=5and hydrate=water).
That is the pretty blue color.Pure copper sulphate with no water is white.
Great video thanks.
Copper sulphate is easily had in bulk from agricultural supply firms.
Loyd anonamous how do we know then the solution is exhausted? Could the guy have plated $20 worth of pennies in this video?
you know when it won't plate any more.Since the coating is very thin you can plate a large number.The copper actually comes from the copper pipe.
The copper sulphate is just a conducting medium.
Loyd anonamous thanks! also, will increasing the voltage and / or current increase the bond?
Yes there are many factors that make good bonds.1/Surface prep. very important.
2/ voltage
3/ current density "most important".
4/ concentration and chemical makeup
of electrolyte.Not so critical.
If current density is too high copper plates
on too fast and piles up upon itself and this
will easilly fall off.
also, its super super easy to make copper sulfate with old scrap copper set up for electrolysis.
Nerdrage does a video that works flawlessly.
Weak sulfuric acid solution
You can literally make lbs of it for pennies.
Very nice Vid. I am wondering if this method would work on Pot Metal. I tried to nickel plate a piece and it was an epic failure. I did a bit of research and according to the Caswell site I need to do what they call "Flash Copper Plating" It seems that the Flash is a non acid plating process. I think I am going to give this a try and see. If you have any thoughts, I would appreciate them.
Cool vid, you could make a living with your voice!
have you tried the muriatic acid & distilled water method copper on steel with root kill?
Can you use a plastic container to do the copper plating?
Can you use this method to plate over (or conceal) silver solder seams on copper work?
Great Video! I have a question, can you copper plate steel with your method?
Cheers.
You will be able to plate it. :)
What's about gold or silver plate? Are they in the same way? Thanks!
Copper sulfate pentahydrate is copper sulfate. The pentahydrate means that it has water trapped within its crystal structure. The pentahydrate form is blue. Copper sulfate without water is gray.
Hi there! Great video. Just curious as to how you built your battery set up. I have a motorcycle battery charger (6v-12v) but I'm nervous about using it. Do you have any advice?
You can give it a whirl. Most people who do plating seem to use common battery voltages like 6 or 12 volts. I've had poor luck with higher voltages. Though it depends on the metal you are plating, copper can sometimes plate well at half a volt or less. So, a single 1.5 volt battery, or two (3 volts) seems plenty for a slow and even plate on most materials I've used.
Does the negative have to be connected to the item being plated or can it be in the solution and still plate objects?
How will this hold up if used on the hex head of bolts? Is it thick enough to machine buff?
The item will oxidize quickly. What can I use to coat it??
I am copper plating a cast iron flagpole stand what size battery should I use for this? The stand is 11" tripod shape, about 2 pounds.
Thank you for any help you can offer.
hello Stancurtin, I did this experiment with the same process, copper does get plate on coin for me but it comes off easily after i rinse with dish washing scrub. any possible reason for this? have you experienced this ?
Copper sulfate pentahydrate is what "pure" copper sulfate becomes when it absorbs water. Hardware store root killer is far more expensive than most online sources for copper sulfate.
Also, this copper sulfate solution can be used to copper plate iron, or steel without applying electricity. Just dip it in...
@@ChadHowarth Just a question. when you say dip it in do you mean literally or let it sit for a while?
@@paulnolan4324, Something tells me he’s not gonna answer mate.
@@paulnolan4324 the coating will be very brittle. however good to get copper powder by brushing of the film coat.
Can i apply this copper plating method on the aluminum ?
Rizky Andika Yes.