Copy CAd/Zinc Parts plated grey???

[KCV6]

Total surface area so both sides and all edges.

As Sean has said. The manual explains all, have a good read of the whole intro section and the relevant setup and plating instructions for the copy cad.

You state earlier you are "using enough of the brightner". The kit comes complete whereby you should be using the entire amount of chemicals supplied.

If you have fried the first few parts by burning them, you have also probably used a lot of the brightener. The brightener gets used real quick if you run high current densities.

[seanc]

Originally Posted by amobine

Also when you have a piece of metal, flat, and it is 2" x 2" , is this 4 square inches or 8 sq. inches. Do you count surface, which would be 4 sq inches per side??

Of course! a 2 x 2 flat plate is 8 sq-inches surface area.

Whatever gets wet when it's in the electrolyte counts as surface area (except a long thin tube, in which case you don't count the inside).

The brightener is added at 1/2 teaspoon per 1.5 gallons of electrolyte. And as KCV6 said, it does get "consumed" during plating, and has to be replenished occasionally.

There are no hard-and-fast numbers for how long the brightener lasts. You just have to keep an eye on your parts. When they start to plate "less bright" than before, then add another 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon of brightener.

You probably did "burn up" the brightener earlier when you plated at 3 amps.

1. get the surface area calculations squared away. Only then can you set the current properly.
2. get the temperature set right
3. begin plating
4. check the parts after 5 minutes. If they're not bright, there's not enough brightener left in the electrolyte. Add 1/4 teaspoon brightener
5. check the parts again after another 3-5 minutes. If they're not "bright enough", add the last 1/4 teaspoon brightener.

Sean