More time or more current???

[epiap]

I've recently purchased a bright acid copper plating kit, i'm having fun but not much success. I'm trying to plate some non conductive items and have been practicing on golf balls.

My problem is when I start to buff a ball some of the copper plate flakes off.

My method so far has been to clean the ball, spray with silvaspray, and plate for 3 hours at 1.5 amps. My gut feeling is that I need a thicker coat of copper and my question is whether I should try to achieve this by increasing my current or my time.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[woodjames]

Uhh, let's see. 3 hours! Man you should be able to use 36 grit on that thing. Have you calibrated your ammeter? Check you volts, that size item you should be coming in around 2 - 2.25, much higher that that and you'll start getting growths. Are you getting a good connection to the part? That may be some of your problem, I can't imagine it's easy. Check the wire that you are hanging it from, it should be quite a bit larger then when you first put it in, if not, we go back to calibration. If it is bigger, then your connection is no good. Ensure you have good agitation, that will affect it a little bit, not much but a little. Check those things and post back, we'll get you through this.

Cancel that I need to learn how to read. If it flakes off - Either the silvaspray has been mishandled, ie it's dirty, not completely dry; or you have a bad connection. If you are conducting then not conducting, it's a bipolar condition. Good connection is important. Just as important is that you go into your bath live. Could be that your silvaspray coating is incomplete.

Just a couple suggestions... Let us know how it works for you.

Jimmy.

I've recently purchased a bright acid copper plating kit, i'm having fun but not much success. I'm trying to plate some non conductive items and have been practicing on golf balls.

My problem is when I start to buff a ball some of the copper plate flakes off.

My method so far has been to clean the ball, spray with silvaspray, and plate for 3 hours at 1.5 amps. My gut feeling is that I need a thicker coat of copper and my question is whether I should try to achieve this by increasing my current or my time.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[epiap]

Thanks Jimmy,

I've been trying out some of your suggestions and I'm getting better results. One of the mistakes I was making was not going into the bath live.

Dean

[goldrapt]

Are you drilling a small hole and then screwing in a metal screw into the golf ball?

[epiap]

I started with a small basket with copper wire woven through it but I'm getting better results by putting a screw into the ball.

I'm playing about with different ways of fixing a tee to the ball at the moment in order to plate the tee aswell.

[woodjames]

Cool. Glad it's working better for you. Nothing worse than plating that flakes! Blisters are just as bad. As far as the tee to the ball...You may want to try a small dowel screw. You could thread it into the ball and into the tee. Then you could back them apart slightly, and spray, then afix your wire to the small exposed portion of the screw. Plate, buff, then tighten them back together, maybe throw a drop of superglue in there.

Jimmy.

I started with a small basket with copper wire woven through it but I'm getting better results by putting a screw into the ball.

I'm playing about with different ways of fixing a tee to the ball at the moment in order to plate the tee aswell.

[goldrapt]

I have not done a golf ball myself but I do know of one way to do it.
This is the way I know.
Drill small countersunk hole into ball, (having shaken the silver ink in its bottle for about 10 mins at room temp) paint a brass screw with the ink, put screw into ball, gently key surface of ball with grey scotchbrite then clean it with a cotton pad ipa cleaner, spray ball with ink then using screw clamp it into a vice so that none of the surface area of the ball touches another surface. when dry, check that the ball is conductive with a tester sweeping the ball to ensure it's conductive all over, then

copper plate then nickel plate then gold plate.

I'm sure there are other ways but this is the way I know.

[epiap]

Thanks for the help Goldrapt, I'm planning on getting a lot more practice with copper before I attempt to gold plate anything.

Jimmy I'm going to source some of those small dowel screws you recommended, they will come in handy for a few other items that will be going into the tank shortly. Nothing is safe around here at the moment, if its not nailed down its getting plated.

Dean