Best and Safest Copper Plating in a Mason Jar Tutorial ~ DIY Professional #5

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No other tutorial provides this much information and explanation on how to achieve high quality copper plating from household ingredients!!!
Bill of Materials:
Conductive Paint for copper plating non-metal objects:
amzn.to/2MIKU3H
Copper Sulphate:
amzn.to/2L9EdmF
Citric Acid:
amzn.to/2QqwQgK
PolyEthylene Glycol:
amzn.to/2UBOBrC
Air Pump:
amzn.to/2Uz7Q57
DC Power Supply (power supply I have):
amzn.to/2PuYBz7
DC Power Supply (all you actually need for this purpose):
amzn.to/2Py5r6W
Copper Wire:
amzn.to/2UE20iO
#garagscience #diyprofessional #garageplating #homeplating #engineer #engineering #make #maker #hobby #project #chemistry #electrochemistry #electroplating #copperplating #copper #homemade #safe #diy #doityourself #best
This is a great alternative to strong acid copper plating with harsh chemicals like sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid. This electrolyte is almost safe enough to drink due to every ingredient being safe to consume with the exception of the copper sulphate.
This setup will provide good plating results for thick plating instead of the very thin plating most other guides on youtube offer. Electroplating doesn't have to be hard, I intentionally provide exact instructions so that anyone can replicate this. Be sure to share this around the interwebs so that others can benefit from it as well.
If you want to see how to make a copper plating electrolyte with a strong acid you can watch my other tutorial here:
• Best Copper Plating So...
This copper plating recipe is derived from the think and tinker site recipe available here:
www.thinktink.com/stack/volum...
Here is a great resource to use when troubleshooting a copper plating bath that isn't plating well:
www3.uic.com/wcms/images2.nsf/...
I got into copper plating with the intent to plate 3D printed parts and since then I have learned a mountain's worth of information. I've tried to simplify it as much as possible and condense the chemistry into relatively short videos so that anyone unfamiliar with the science can get successful results.
Remember to like this video and subscribe if you haven't done so already. Your support is what makes all these videos possible!!!
I also post additional content to my facebook page and instagram account:
/ garagescience
@garage_science

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9 ноя 2017

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Комментарии : 86

@GarageScience 4 года назад

This is Will, Will watches a RU-vid video without providing feedback in the comments. Will doesn't do RU-vid right. Don't be like Will

@nicolasjax8684 3 года назад

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@xzavierfranklin7300 3 года назад

@Nicolas Jax Instablaster ;)

@nicolasjax8684 3 года назад

@Xzavier Franklin i really appreciate your reply. I found the site through google and im waiting for the hacking stuff atm. Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

@nicolasjax8684 3 года назад

@Xzavier Franklin It worked and I now got access to my account again. Im so happy! Thanks so much you saved my ass!

@xzavierfranklin7300 3 года назад

@Nicolas Jax no problem :)

@jazbuilding Год назад

I owe you a thank you. I restored the lever cap to 110 year old Stanley block plane and used your recipes for this copper bath and you Watts bath. There was a learning curve, but I eventually got the copper thick enough where it filled in the voids and pits in the steel. It came out great and the heavy lifting on the plating baths came from you. Thanks again for the great content. I appreciate how you stick to the facts and keep your videos moving. I hope to re-plate other parts and pieces to planes in the future, and who knows where it might lead. Cheers.

@GarageScience Год назад

Very glad you got so much out of this content. Good luck with the rest of your projects.

@supergiantbubbles 3 года назад

I really appreciate your detailed instructions and the time and effort you put into making this and your other videos. Best info I've seen on this subject on RU-vid.

@bheckel1 6 лет назад

Thank you for the video I have been struggling with this. I will try this way. Weld spatter doesn't stick to copper. I want to plate a lot of tools. You could make money providing this service to welders. Charge a lot. Its worth it.

@sidekickbob7227 3 года назад

Very informative! Thank you very much.

@vernwilson6910 4 месяца назад

Thank you for sharing this with me

@PamBum28829 5 лет назад

Now I know why my cooper burning like roasted chicken. Thx really helpful!

@suuris1 2 года назад

Looks great. Many thanks!

@dragan3290 2 года назад

Excellent tutorial! 🙂👍👍👍

@seyedmarashi 5 лет назад

excellent, thanks

@teabreak3006 6 лет назад

魔法みたいです。知識のある人がうらやましい。

@NeoQJ 3 года назад

Thanks for the share

@MAKRAMLAGH-cs2fj 2 месяца назад

Thanks ❤

@ryanturner6920 5 лет назад

"Laxative, for smooth deposits." Lol! Yeah, I know. I need to grow up.

@neutronpcxt372 5 лет назад

So, for any Canadians here, have you found any 30% sulfuric acid? I'd love to use drain cleaner, since it uses 93% sulfuric acid, but the inhibitors are tough to get rid of.

@pepethepatriot7524 4 года назад

Can you provide a link to the potentiometer you used with the battery setup? TY!

@kennethboydsr3966 11 месяцев назад

Cool !!’

@LEO-xo9cz 4 года назад

I've seen Bicarb as well as Epsom salt used. Have you tried either of them?

@acrelake 4 года назад

Was your citric acid pure? The canning citric acid at my grocery stores have silicon dioxide in them, and I'm not entirely sure how that would affect the process. Great video, my wife and I are planning an electroplating project, and we've been looking for safer electrolyte solutions.

@johnnycash4034 3 года назад

Can you plate all the same objects with this as with the other solution?

@borontv6400 Год назад

Does anyone know what weakness this method has compared to using aggressive acids? Does it just take longer or are end results worse?

@mateoarv 5 лет назад

Very nice! Do you know how the plating time relates to the copper thickness in this solution?

@GarageScience 5 лет назад

You'll need a good 15min to get a couple micron thick coating on a part. You can calculate the thickness plates using the plating current and the surface area of your part.

@NarragansettBayDesigns 6 лет назад

I you were to re-use this solution, would you add more citric acid with each use? Same question for the battery acid formula - do you need to add acid each time? These are great videos, thank you!

@GarageScience 6 лет назад

Thanks for the question. Yes you could continue to reuse the solution many more times before needing to remix or add more acid. No electroplating process is 100% efficient and so some chemicals will be consumed in addition to the copper. Over time you would have to add more citric acid but since it is a weak acid the ph would not very significantly nor would you have to be excessively precise when adding more. Same with the battery acid formula except since battery acid is a very strong acid then ph will very significantly and you will want to measure the ph and carefully measure the correct amount of acid to add. In that respect weak acid plating is more robust if you don't have very much equipment.

@hex1101 2 года назад

The more of these videos I watch the more I'm realizing I can throw practically anything in some distilled water to accomplish a half way decent plate.

@erisiantaoist 4 года назад

So, I'm considering copper-plating some metal mesh gloves, since mesh gloves only come in stainless steel, and copper is much more antimicrobial (including anti-viral, if anybody reads this before the coronacalypse). So, would a super low-and-slow, 1milliamp plating process work on all the tiny ringlets of a stainless steel glove, if I left it going for a day or two?

@xq34 6 лет назад

Hi thanks a lot for the tutorial, and may i ask have you down zinc plating before or do you know if there is any difference between them? Thanks in advance :)

@xq34 6 лет назад

Cuz I didn't find anything related to zinc on thinktink, so I'm wondering maybe you can give me some help...

@johnthomas5166 5 лет назад

I have a large part / parts to do, is this method applicable if the container and copper anodes are scaled up also? I need the container to be about the 1 gal. capacity. Thanks in advance.

@GarageScience 5 лет назад

I haven't tried it in greater than 1 quart but it should still work. Be careful not to put too much copper electrod in or the Cu ion concentration will increase. Spend some time calculating the current density of the part of its larger because very large parts require a lot of plating current.

@muflatu 6 лет назад

Hi. I need to iron plate my homemade cooper tips. Can it be done with vinegar? I'm tired to change my tips every week. Cheers.

@GarageScience 6 лет назад

Tips for what? Traditionally most people are interested in copper plating iron and not vice versa. There is an exchange reaction that occurs when iron is dipped in a solution full of copper ions, this exchange produces a coat of copper on the iron that just rubs off. Therefore copper plating iron requires plating it first with a different metal first(usually tin or zinc) then plating that with copper. If you want to iron plate something it will probably require the same approach. I've never heard of iron plating though, is that actually a thing?

@quartermasterbambooii9629 6 лет назад

Can I use the same recipe for a nickel obviously using nickel sulfate instead of copper sulfate? This video was extremely helpful I followed the directions explicitly and I got a very beautiful copper plate onto the conductive ink Around a seashell 🤙🏻

@GarageScience 6 лет назад

Unfortunately no. Nickel plating requires a bath with different chemistry. I'll get a nickel plating in a Mason jar video up here eventually. Super stoked you got good results and that people are having success from my content.

@quartermasterbambooii9629 6 лет назад

Can’t wait for the vid. I’ll be lost in space till then!!!

@nicamarvin 5 лет назад

All sulfate nickel plating is possible, it was done years ago as a form of Nickel Electroforming before the advent of Nickel Sulfamate plating system. There is also an All Chloride Nickel plating solution which is Nickel chloride and diluted Hydrochloric acid, that type of plating bath is used as a Nickel Strike plating bath to plate ontop of Stainless steel, it's called the Wood's Nickel Strike( invented/developed by Don Wood) .. Nickel Acetate can also be used(some videos on youtube), the formula for what has been the regular Nickel Plating bath for the better part of the last half century is Nickel Sulfate 200 Grams Per Liter, Nickel Chloride 25 Grams per Liter and 25 grams of Boric Acid.

@pepethepatriot7524 4 года назад

@@GarageScience I'm also very interested in a nickel plating video as there seems to be a lack of them here on RU-vid! Please post one!!

@mormonmafia1705 6 лет назад

I have some copper items and I want to Plate them with of aluminum. What processes do I need to plate aluminum to The Copper

@dieterkrause1674 3 года назад

zincate solution...

@leticiaec 5 лет назад

Excelent video ! I am wondering how i can make some kind of homemade conductive ink to electroplate tree leaves. Can you help me? Thank you so much.

@GarageScience 5 лет назад

It would be fairly difficult to make a conductive paint. This nickel spray paint works great and I've used it a bunch in my projects: amzn.to/2SEqrLV

@adamrodaway1074 5 лет назад

You might try using graphite powder (as used in electrotyping) but it will depend on how robust your leaves are.

@TrojanEMT 4 года назад

I've used Krohn's acid copper electroplating solution and i had tested a quarter as well and it came out dull. What would be the best way to brighten and shine the plated metal before nickel plating?

@GarageScience 4 года назад

A little laxative actually might help, PEG works pretty well as a leveler and brightener. Dont need much, would probably only had a few grams at a time.

@macrumpton 5 лет назад

I am interested in plating things quite a bit larger than a quarter; about 1 square foot. Would I be better off getting a more powerful power supply? Also can you recommend a good book for plating knowledge? I got the "2013 Metal finishing guidebook" which has lots of very technical info and some really scary sounding stuff about using cyanide for copper plating. I looking for more of a booklet telling me how do basic plating and how to not poison or blow myself up.

@GarageScience 5 лет назад

Here is a good summary to quickly troubleshoot copper plating troubles: www3.uic.com/wcms/images2.nsf/c06db59d70a043cc85256809004d8cbe/183dbe584ba8157b852570140067e6a2/$FILE/09-Electrolytic_Copper_Plating_Additives_and_Contaminants.pdf If you want a deep dive into electroplating the book "Modern Electroplating" is very good and covers many different electroplating processes. To copper plate a 1 square foot part you're going to need a very good power supply (something that can supply at least 20-30 amps steady state) Also keep in mind things like bath size, part geometry and orientation start to play a bigger role when you start plating bigger parts... consider watching my video about part shape and orientation and electroplating here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UVZjNn22P-g.html

@reachingout9285 2 года назад

@@GarageScience Hello this link is broken any chance you have a different way of viewing the material

@GarageScience 2 года назад

Another location for this document is here. www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/62358379/09-electrolytic-copper-plating-additives-and-contaminants

@zenmanproject 4 года назад

I tried this yesterday and it worked with a quarter, which I think has a nickel surface. I tried a few different nails which I think are zinc coated. I think the nails were creating a battery and the zinc coating was being eaten away. Is there a way to coat copper on top of a zinc coating?

@GarageScience 4 года назад

Not with this solution, check out my video about why you can't copper plate steel. The same principle applies with zinc and I talk about that. You need a different solution chemistry to avoid the reaction you are experiencing or you need to first coat the zinc in something else such as nickel. I have a video on a simple nickel plating bath that generates good bright finishes.

@-----REDACTED----- 3 года назад

So can you get stainless steel successfully and robustly electroplated with this? I am looking to electroplated a stainless steel pen barrel with copper since it’s anti microbial and beautiful

@buckfuhtt2083 2 года назад

If you can get it nickel plated first. Copper only likes to stick to nickel.

@ColinWatters 4 года назад

When I added the copper sulphate it went green/brown and copper precipitated out at the bottom. Did I add too much copper sulphate? Edit: no it can't be that because it went green/brown when the first spoonful went in. Confused. Edit 2. Face Palm.. it seems that the Vitamin C powder i used is ascorbic acid not citric acid as I thought. When I used proper citric acid it stayed blue as it's meant to.

@greygleam 6 лет назад

if you dont want to use sulfuric acid what about replacing that with sodiumhydrogensulfate(sodiumbisulfate)to acidify the solution? its a crystaline solid salt, often available as "ph minus" granulate in pool supply. not as strong as straight sulfuric acid but stronger than citric.

@GarageScience 6 лет назад

+Greygleam you would be introducing a significant amount of sodium at that point which could adversely effect the copper plating... never heard of anyone using that, have you had any success with it?

@joel6221 13 дней назад

Original recipe link?

@ARCSTREAMS 5 лет назад

so less conductive might be better in case your mAh is high it will give you lower amps ?

@GarageScience 5 лет назад

I think your confusing a couple different concepts. mAh is a measure of energy. The current supplied is determined by voltage and conductivity. Ideally you have a set conductivity that never changes and your bath chemistry remains perfect forever. That isn't true though and chemistry has to be adjusted. As a general rule it shouldn't take very much voltage to get a satisfactory amount of current. 1-3 volts is usually more than enough in my experience.

@ARCSTREAMS 5 лет назад

im saying if your voltage is too high (say 9v) and that is all you have to work with then perhaps a less conductive medium will give a lower voltage? or am i wrong on this? either it conducts at 9v or it doen't is that what you are saying? or does the medium act like a resistor thus you can regulate voltage or amps

@oheyy420 5 лет назад

so i watched a different video and all that was used for the solution was 5 parts water 1 part muriatic acid and the part they plated looked good. whats the difference or benefit to using your solution?

@GarageScience 5 лет назад

A solution like that will allow you to technically electroplate, however you wont get more than a micron thick layer of copper and still have the finish that looks good at all. The high concentration of chlorides will cause the copper coating to be very brittle and porous. The high acidity will also likely cause very uneven plating over time. The solution I use in this video is head and shoulders safer as well, which is the biggest upside. You can drink citric acid since it's basically just concentrated lemon juice. Muriatic Acid is concentrated hydrochloric acid and can cause chemical burns in the respiratory system if the fumes are inhaled and will cause severe chemical burns on the skin, it can also cause blindness if gotten in the eyes.

@oheyy420 5 лет назад

@@GarageScience thank you for the detailed response

@royalrevue23 5 лет назад

have you done it with 3d prints /

@GarageScience 5 лет назад

Yes I have, I made a video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nmeLfZw7pD0.html

@oneuponedown 5 лет назад

You should have cleaned the part with acetone, rubbing alcohol, or something else that evaporates fast to get oils and dust off.

@joel6221 13 дней назад

What kind of wire did you use to hold the coin

@GarageScience 13 дней назад

18awg bare copper wire.

@MrRedeyedJedi 6 лет назад

I tried copper acetate, a bit of salt and a 5vdc charger and it just rubs off what ever i try to plate. Looks like i do need copper sulphate

@GarageScience 6 лет назад

Try also using a smaller power source. Try just 1.5V from a AA battery or something. 5Vs is a lot and you might be just trying to plate too quickly.

@ARCSTREAMS 5 лет назад

but if more voltage means faster is this not better so long as your amps are correct? and is doing it faster make the job bad and it rubs off,is that the cause?

@GarageScience 5 лет назад

It's a balancing act, if your solution requires too much voltage then it may not be conductive enough which may indicate your solution is out of whack and you'll get bad results. Too much plating current is bad and often leads to "burnt" deposits. In the end it's not so much about the voltage as much as it is the current. Slow and steady wins the race my friend ;)

@ARCSTREAMS 5 лет назад

ok great ,i have tried on a 9v bat and tryied doing a quarter but this gunky stuff built up fast on it and burns like you said and mine too just rubbed off but what i did started noticing is my small alligator clip that ws holding the part actually came out looking great after several attempts of doing the quarter,,the clip after cleaning the gunk out actually had a lovely even coat of id say a good amount of microns as its hard to rub off or scratch,it turned out amazing when putting a regular clip next to it,even coated between the small teeth and the small screw on it ,so im puzzled why it worked there but not on the quarter,,im thinking it must be either the plating on the clip or the quarter are different or it could be i did not properly clean the quarter? i never cleaned the clip to begin with so i assume whatever its originally plated with(i guess nickel of some kind) it did the job,but i have to keep trying ,this time im using a small dime and i cleaned it with jewelry cleaner and made it look like a mirror problem is i did not wash it with water but simply wiped it and started the process,hopefully the cleaner wont affect it like skin oils might,also my 9v may have died down to the perfect current right now lol i had no idea how long a batt can last doing this but its slow now with very little bubbles but the dime is getting browned like normal,,but its a learning and exp curve each time ,so just keep at it

@tashspond 3 года назад

Are you sure you mean square ft and not square inch?

@tashspond 3 года назад

So do you need to use more amps and volts if you are not using sulfuric acid? And how does amps per sq ft break down for a small area? What do I set my rectifier at for a quarter inside a mason jar? On my rectifier I can't just turn on volts and see a current, I also have to set the amps.