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Hello.

Has anyone ever successfully managed to copper plate a model at home?

 

I've been slowly assembling parts to make a model of one of Edmund Bury's 1836 0-4-0 Goods engines.

These were the earliest iteration of 'Old Copperknob' as seen at NRM.

 

If you know the prototype you will know that one principle feature is the polished copper firebox.

I've had a few goes at creating a 4mm version and my best attempt used a 15mm copper fitting for the cylinder bit and sheets of lead to form the dome.

This provides a substantial weight but needs colouring.

 

This website suggested that it could be done using electrolysis. http://www.instructables.com/id/High-Quality-Copper-Plating/

 

Here's my attempt.

It started like this:

DSCF3743[1]

 
After 20 minutes using a AA 1.5V battery produced this:

DSCF3744[1]

 
Fair to say it hasn't really worked, especially on the lead sheets.
 
Has anyone had any success with this or any other copper plating method?
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I cannot say why I am not surprised about the poor response of the lead, but I am not. Maybe one of the electroless processes would work, the sort that will coat even plastics and used as a precursor to electroplating. I am familiar (a long time ago) with electroless "strike" to provide a base for further plating

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You  are  getting  some  copper  down.

The  surface  to  be  plated  must  be  spotless  and  grease / oil free.

It  should  be  polished  first  then  cleaned  (I  use an  acid  dip)

If  you  wish  mask  any areas  you  dont  want  plated,  this  will  help  concentrate  the  deposition  on  the  areas  required.

20  minutes  is  way  to  short  and  the  voltage  is  low,  I  normally use  a  battery  charger  at  6v  or  12V.

I  have  not  tried  plating  Lead but  it  should  be  OK 

You  may  see  fine  bubbles  on  the  plating  surface,  if  so  gently  shake  to  lose  these.

If  a  lot  of  dynamic  bubbles,  less  volts.

 

Pete

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I've had a few goes at creating a 4mm version and my best attempt used a 15mm copper fitting for the cylinder bit and sheets of lead to form the dome.

 

 

hi there,

just wondering, can you disassemble the parts? I would assume that both could be plated individually and assembled afterwards.

I am no chemist, but lead and copper act very differently in electolytic liquids. As long as both parts have elctric contact, one surface will be likely eaten while the other one will build a plating.

If you can't separate the parts, you might try to protect one metal surface with some kind of temporary coating. The goal should be to isolate one metal completely from the electrolyte.

 

best regard,

Michael

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Another  thing  to  watch  is  how  the  item  you  want  to  plate  is  suspended,  (generally  by  fine  wire)  but  ensure  the  areas  you  want  plated  are  well  surrounded  by  the  electrolyte and  are  well  clear  from  other  items  which  could  screen  them,  to  close  to  another  conducting  surface  will  result  in  a  thin  or  patchy  coating  in  that area.

 

Pete

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  • 2 months later...

dont forget to add some salts to the water washing soda works well

i used this in reverse to remove rust off some scooter parts onto a piece of sacrificial steel 

 

and yes you need a battery charger to give enough power for it to work well 

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From memory, in school chemistry lessons we used copper sulphate solution as the electrolyte. You should be able to get it from a garden centre, at least as Bordeaux Mixture if not straight.

 

Also, make sure the lead is properly clean. It develops an oxide layer very quickly which, I would imagine, will inhibit current flow.

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If you google for "electroplating copper onto lead" you get a lot of hits where people ask about copper plating lead bullets. The general consensus is that electroplating onto lead is not something which should be done by the hobbyist. 

 

e.g.

Q. I want to plate lead bullets with copper. What method should I use. Is cyanide still available and not a banned substance?
 
Stan Kaczor
- Port Elizabeth, East Cape, South Africa
 
July 21, 2009
A. Hi, Stan. Cyanide is not banned in the USA, although it may be banned in South Africa. But the fact that this very powerful poison is available to trained workers in industry doesn't necessarily mean that a hobbyist can easily get it. Lead is very hard and dangerous to plate really properly: it also requires hydrofluoric acid to activate, which is about the nastiest chemical the plating industry deals with. As hobbyists have reported here, the processes they use offer no adhesion and they are relying on sort of a "shrink wrap" effect to hold the plating on. We don't censor people, so we've printed their suggestions ... but it certainly doesn't mean we accept them as less than very hazardous.
 
Regards,
 
Ted Mooney, finishing.com
Teds signature
Ted Mooney, P.E.
finishing.com
Pine Beach, New Jersey
 
 
Edited by JohnGi
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My last post seemed more negative than I intended. What I meant to convey was that electroplating directly onto the lead seemed to be discouraged for hobbyists, but there's no reason why you couldn't follow a process using an intermediate step as suggested by an earlier poster.

 

I cannot say why I am not surprised about the poor response of the lead, but I am not. Maybe one of the electroless processes would work, the sort that will coat even plastics and used as a precursor to electroplating. I am familiar (a long time ago) with electroless "strike" to provide a base for further plating

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Is it worth considering alternative methods? Commissioning a 3D print to make a pattern and then casting from that is shown here:

 

https://i.materialise.com/blog/3d-printing-copper/

 

Melting point of copper is 1085C so it's not really a DIY project unless you have a little furnace.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for all the replies.

I'm not ashamed to say that I abandoned this idea.

It sounded like an easy way to turn brass and lead into copper but the results just never matched the dream.

 

I will be painting these bits once the model is ready for it.

The ideal solution (sorry!) would be to make the whole thing out of copper bar using a lathe.

Maybe one day.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Maybe a 3D printed firebox in brass, then copperplate that, would do the trick?

 

EDIT TO ADD: You can get Rose Gold plated brass as a finish from Shapeways. Rose Gold effectively being very expensive copper. 

Edited by Quarryscapes
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