copper plate spreads like fungus--normal?

[lewp]

I got my acid copper plating kit working, and am plating a small wax opbject covered in conductive copper paint. the plate seems to go on very sloooowly, starting where the wire attaches to the object and spreading out over the surface from there. 2 hours at 1.5 amps (object is approx 14 sq inches) and there are still bare patches. there are several coats of conductive paint so I don't think it's that. any tips to make it plate more evenly, more quickly? many thanks.

[ashcroft01]

lewp,

Sorry for the delay in posting.

First of all, what size copper kit are you trying to plate out of?

How many anodes are you using and what are their sizes?

Is your piece round, square, oval, etc.?

Are you inserting the copper wire before or after you coat the object with conductive paint?

These are a few questions that would need to be answered first before being able to diagnose the problem.

Keep us posted and we'll try to help you out.

[mcaswell]

Try wrapping the object in more wires to get it started. Take them off as soon as you see copper plated, otherwise they'll leave a mark.

[lewp]

Hi, thanks for the replies. The piece is a small sphere about the size of a small apple. It's a 1.5 gallon kit. The anodes are about 4 x 8, standard with the kit. I put the wire in first, secure it, then paint the object and a very small part of the wire with the conductive paint. The wire is plating like gangbusters but the object itself isn't doing much, so I don't think it's the bath or the electrical system. I will try surrounding it with wires, that's a good idea. Any other suggestions let me know. Thanks for the help you guys,

Lauren

[lewp]

Ok! So I got it to work better--I think I just didn't have a strong enough concentration of copper conductive paint.

So now, it plates all right, but when I try to steam out the wax, it cracks. Overall the copper seems not very "coppery"--kind of dull, and almost crumbly. There are some little bumps on parts of the plate. It is a good color but not shiny and smooth.

Any ideas? Many thanks.

Lauren

[treehugger]

Hi!, what kind of wax are you using, im having trouble finding a suitable wax which silvaspray conductive paint will stick to. Thanks, Dave.

[lewp]

I'm using brown casting wax from a sculpture supply store, the sticky kind. But I'm not using the spray, I'm using something called Safer Solutions copper paint, which is in an acrylic water-based medium. Available from Safer Solutions in Philadelphia, safer-solutions.com.