Can I plate [insert your metal here] with copper?
It depends. Certain metals play nice together, others do not. The ones that do not are called "dissimilar metals". In the picture, you'll find a table I borrowed from RFI. The table is designed to let you know when a galvanic reaction might occur causing corrosion. For our purposes, it also tells us which metals are compatible and which are not. The lower the magnitude of the number (aka the absolute value), the more compatible (ie similar) the metals will be. If you are trying to plate a metal that is not compatible, you may need to plate with nickel or another metal first. Aluminum, for example, should be plated with nickel before it can be plated with copper. You can find my nickel plating instructable here: https://www.instructables.com/id/High-Quality-and-safe-Nickel-Plating/
How do I plate non-conductive objects?
First, you need to make them conductive. You can do this with conductive paints, conductive glues, and even metal leaf (think gold leaf) as long as whatever you are coating your surface with is not water soluble. I haven't experimented much with this myself which means you will have to. Send me a message with your results and I'll post them here for others to reference.
How much voltage/current do I need?
As little as possible. The lower the voltage and current, the better results you will get. You need a minimum of 0.5V DC to plate with copper. A C or D cell battery will give you pretty decent results. If you don't have access to lower voltages, you can put the electrolyte into a big container and move your electrodes as far away from another as you can - the increase in distance will also increase the resistance of the circuit and decrease the current.
Can I use copper chloride or another electrolyte instead of making it with vinegar and such?
Yes, you can. I just like the idea of making my own chemicals. You can get root kill (which are green crystals if I recall) at your local hardware store for relatively cheap.
Can I use other acids other than acetic acid (vinegar)?
Yes.....but be careful... This instructable was written for average Joes and Jolenes, not chemists. Other acids can be significantly more dangerous as well as release some very nasty, very toxic chemicals into the air. Unless you are an experience chemist (ie you have an actual degree, not just AP Chem in high school or Chem 111 in college), I would not recommend playing with other chemicals.
Is plating coins illegal?
The first thing I want to point out is that I'm only using coins because they are everywhere and cheap by definition. The copper and nickel content make them ideal for small experiments. This isn't a "how to plate coins" instructable, coins are simply handy and recognizable. For those of you who took high school chem lab, you probably used quarters, dimes, and pennies for a couple different classroom experiments.
As far as the legality of plating coins, to my understanding, it is legal as long as you 1) Aren't removing metal from the coins with intent to sell that metal, 2) Are not trying to pass them as something they are not (ie a copper plated dime is worth 10 cents, nothing more), and 3) Aren't defacing the coins for malicious intent. As a personal disclaimer, this is MY understanding - take it with a grain of salt. If this is incorrect, I would welcome a friendly or message from the US Treasury or other qualified persons.
Why are you using a 6V lantern battery when you say that lower voltages are better?
-The difference in plating quality between low voltages (0.5VDC is the lowest you can go) and 6VDC is not much. BUT, the time it takes to plate using 6VDC is a lot less.
-If you want lower voltages, you can do so by moving your anode and cathode farther apart. This is because your electrolyte acts as a variable resistor and the square resistance of your anode and cathode create two more resistors of a fixed resistance. The further your anode and cathode are from each other, the greater the resistance of the electrolyte, the greater the voltage drop across the electrolyte, the lower the voltage between the cathode and the electrolyte directly touching it. Without taking an electronics class, this can be a little difficult to understand, so if you don't, you will just need to trust me.
-Good lantern batteries will last a very long time. They have many, many AA batteries in parallel which gives you more available juice and higher current if you want it.
-Lantern batteries are easy to clip alligator clips to and don't need battery holders.
-As the battery drains, its internal resistance will not raise significantly and its voltage will not drop much due to the highly parallel internal battery connections. This gives you more consistent results.
Can I plate Aluminum?
I would avoid it. Aluminum is just one of those metals that don't plate well. If you are looking for a corrosion-resistant finish, you can anodize the aluminum to create a clear oxide layer that is extremely corrosion resistant. If you are looking for a colored finish, you can get dyes that absorb into the oxide layer and stain it whatever color you want (this is actually what Apple and other companies do to make different colored iPods).
Can I use copper plating to keep steel parts from rusting?
No. Absolutely not. This is for a couple different reasons.
- Copper patinas (ie rusts) and can eventually flake off over time exposing microscopic and macroscopic holes through to your base metal. As salt, water, and oxygen reach the base metal, it will rust underneath your plating causing more plating to flake off and ....you get the idea.
- Copper will create a galvanic reaction (which is how most batteries work) with the iron in the steel when your object is placed in water. This will cause your steel parts to rust EVEN FASTER. If you want to test this, place a piece of copper in salty water with a piece of steel touching it. It will start rusting like crazy in a couple hours or faster.
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We are in a refueling outage again, so I am working 72 hour weeks for 6 weeks (ie: tired as hell, but a sizable chunk of OT). Our current cookware is about 35 years old - purchased about 2 years after we were married and it's starting to show its age.
I am considering purchasing the 14 piece All-Clad Copper Core set from BB&B (have a 20% coupon) and I am looking for some real world feedback.
Thanks in advance.
Edit to add: The All-Clad Hard Anodized line is not under consideration as it is coated with PTFE. I know that the harmful PFOAs were removed back in or so, but with SWMBOs asthma issues, I don't want to take the chance of the pans off-gassing something when heated.
MMBGE / Large BGE / XL BGE (Craigslist Find) / SF30x80 cabinet trailer - "Ol' Mortimer" / Outdoor kitchen in progress.
RECOVERING BUBBLEHEAD
Southeastern CT.
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