Electro-Painting

[YT2095]

inspired by Lances work here: http://www.scienceforums.net/forums/showpost.php?p=211502&postcount=364

 

I came up with an idea I`ll call electro-painting.

 

in the case of the copper tube in the link above, I recon it would be possible to make the banded areas a little more defined, basicly you`de attatch a wire to the tube making it the cathode (-). then either a paint brush (the sort with the metal colar that holds the bristles in place) with a wite attatched to the colar making it the Anode (+) OR a piece of cotton wool, dipped in a weak soln of the metal salt you wish to plate with, if the voltage is kept low (no more than 2 volts) really accurate plate painting could be acheived

 

I`ve not tested this myself, but in theory there`s nothing saying it couldn`t work!

[Lance]

I have found that this works great using one of those small sponges used for removing makeup as the brush if you stick some copper wire as the anode inside the sponge and plate using copper sulfate. I haven't had much success using this method for plating other metals though. Good luck.

[YT2095]

neat, so it Does work with Some salts then

 

my Idea was more along the lines of pictures using the blank Copper Clad PCBs before they get etched, or making little bits of jewelery, I`m sure it probably has Other more usefull or Practical applications too rather than just asthetic.

and I dare say more that just Copper salts will work too

[Lance]

You certainly have a neat idea, I may try this out later too. Nickel or zinc might create a nice contrast on top of the copper cladding.

[jdurg]

The big problem I've always had when trying to plate something is that I never actually get a 'plating'. I always seem to get a replacement reaction instead. (Like when trying to plate copper onto something. Whenever I'd put the metal into the copper solution, the Cu ions would start ppting out and replacing the metal itself).

 

To get a very good separation, you could also use a hot wax and place the wax over the sections you don't want plated. When you're done, you can heat the rod up and the wax should melt right off.

[YT2095]

that sounds a very similar method used when they make those fancy painted eggs, I`ve had a similar problem with replacement reactions too, I`ve found that making the plating soln really dilute helps no end, sometimes as little as 1%, I know Gold and Silver plating prefers to be a weaker soln than say Copper, keeping the voltage low (or not at all in some instances) helps too.

[paul salchow]

I am new here so be gentle. 10 years ago there was a product i used for gold plating shotgun triggers.

It used a soln of copper to first plate the part and than a soln of gold to finish plate the part.

The amount of shine was dependant of surface polish but it was quite durable, The problem i am having is what the soln of copper and gold was.

The product has not been offered for some time so i would like to build one my self, what do i need to do this.

1 to 9 volts, a pos lead and a neg lead, one lead to the part and one to a acid brush, i can build a lexan container for the soln.

Where do you get the soln for this work?. thank you all.