Copper plating

[dubwise]

Good day,
What are the best metals for electroplating?Which are suitable, and which are not?Can aluminium pats copper plated?What is the best and easy preparation for copper plating?
Thank you.

[fxstcguy98]

Most metals can be copper plated with the right technique. Carbon steel is probably the easiest, but you have to use a strike plate of either nickle or flash copper prior to acid copper. Aluminum requires a coating of zincate, then flash copper or nickle, then acid copper. Stainless can be done, but it requires a special activator that I have no experience with. Potmetal is a pain in the but, I wouldn't recommend that until you have some experience. Of course if all you want is for it to look like copper, you could put several layers of flash copper on and then buff it to the desired look. 90% of all plating is in the prep work, cleaning, polishing, degreasing, etching, activating are required before you ever get to the bath. Based on your question, I would suggest you do some research on the subject before you dive into this, plating requires lots of patience and time, not to mention the costs.

[dubwise]

greetings,
maybe you can shortly tell about flash copper?main things to know.
Another question about waterbrake test. How should be it done?
Thaks.

[fxstcguy98]

flash copper link

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/flashcopper.html

waterbreak link

http://www.caswellplating.com/movies/index.html

[fly]

I agree take your time and make sure you want to try it, and if possible try to find someone close by and see if they will let you watch the process. THis will help you understand it better, but it looks easier then what you will face when you get started on your own. But its good when its good, but BAD when its bad, so try to find patience when you do decide to try it.

[-ego-]

I would have to agree with the patience thoery. I have been plating with the flash copper and nickel plating kit for a little over 2 months. I would say I have it perfected but there is allways room for improvement. I have been plating aluminum parts so I have to zincate which only takes 30 seconds in a zincate bath in a 3 gallon tank at room tempeture. After zincating I flash copper for 30 minutes and it fills most of my fine scratches and very small dings. Its not hard once you figure out the process.

However, here comes the patience thing. When you are trying to figure it out it can take an hour for each part. Knowing that you could physically put more parts in your tank, persay, 15 or so rather than one, you just can't do that when your figuring it out becuase if you mess up you mess up 15 parts rather than 1. I soon found my self only getting about 5 bad parts a day doing them one at a time, which isn't a hole lot of results to use to figure out what your doing wrong. I would have to say it took me over 50 of my 3-4 square inch parts before I had figured out the right amperage, connections, etc. and if you can only do 1 part an hour or about 5 parts per day until you want to pull your teeth out becuase it isn't going the way you want it to, it can take a couple of weeks until you figure it out. Once you figure it out, and you will if you have great pateince, it is definitely more of an art than a science.