Canadian nickels that were minted dated 1982, and before are 99.00 percent nickel. This is what I use for nickel plating. These nickel coins are cheaper than the nickel welding rods.
Very nice. One question: my understanding of the plating process is that the copper serves to fill in pitting an should be buffed and recoppered until smooth and then final plating is done.
@@ARCSTREAMS Real plating is metal depositing on top of the other metal and bonding. In the other case, the most electropositive metal (copper) replaces the metal of the part (iron) which goes into solution. I suppose the film is porous and not bonded well.
@@ARCSTREAMS If you want to refine copper, use a stainless steel cathode like a glossy kitchen bowl, and you will be able to peel the copper out. Not plating. Like painting on a dusty surface. With nickel you have bonding.
@@ARCSTREAMS We have an FAQ that covers science project copper plating, but functional plating is a fairly rigorous science; and trying to plate copper directly onto stainless steel with proper adhesion does not in general work. Nor does using low quality metal like copper pipe as the anode. Good luck. www.finishing.com/153/52.shtml
I watched another video where he believed the nickel had to first be done to the copper to plate to the steel. Also seemed to work just fine. From what I saw, they both plate directly just fine.
I repeatedly come across this contradiction, where one source insists that only Nickel can be plated primarily onto steel, then others like this. I'm set up now so will find out myself. Most interesting point here was somewhat raised temp of soln's
@@sumredsblue this is not a contradiction. You cannot use an acid based copper solution first plating onto steel. the 2 metals are at different energy states and the copper will much more easily peel off..in the video, the only way he gets away with it is the surface irregularities on the bolt, and the fact that the entire bolt is enveloped in copper....to test for yourself: plate a copper layer onto a flat polished plate of steel..the copper sheets right off! nickel makes an extremely good bond to steel, and should always be done first, and then copper over the nickel if wanted....this is how all steel parts are chromed: first a layer of nickel, then chrome over the nickel.
Great job ! I can hear you fine. I'm tired of rust cleaning my Tiag lathe parts and nickel looks like the ticket. Don't need most things looking pretty just to last. Much Thanks.
@@bryan2127 Ill be trippin through this stuff for a while. I'm supposing you would have to heat the vinegar out in order to collect copper acetate. Also can you replate with Nikel once the item starts wearing, without removal other than a good cleaning.
Could you please give a lomk wher to buy good nickel to make nickel acetate? I got nickel strip (10m) but I got horrible result and not even greenish solution
Means we can put layer of copper quoting on steel with the help of this video and is it durable quoting layer on steel actually my business of stainless steel bottles and I am want to put copper layer on stainless steel bottles, is it effective for stainless steel bottles?
What a horrible, horrible video. Did you even edit it?? I had to turn my volume all the way up just to hear you and then I could barely understand you.
Do you have any information on the charger? What volts and Miliamps is it rated for? Also I would suggest you plate it longer. the reason being is that when you are screwing it back on, it is going to create friction and some of the plating will rub off. if there is any iron exposed it can rust the entire bolt out through that one spot. Call it your Achilles heel, like the points on the bolt where the alligator clips are touching it. Rotate them several times in the plating process to mitigate this issue. Good luck! Actually, now that I think about it, this is a very bad idea, you need to skip the copper step or your bolts will become batteries and that's like oxidation station! OH NO! REMOVE THE COPPER BEFORE ITS TOO LATE! It's called Galvanic corrosion. Link to wikipedia : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_corrosion
Hi guys, I would like to ask for help with electroplating, specifically nickel and copper plating. I need to coat some small pieces of both black steel and stainless steel. I bought nickel sulfate and copper sulfate and pure nickel (99.9%) for this purpose. As the copper anode, I used the electric wire. I dissolved nickel sulfate and copper sulfate separately in two containers in hot distilled water (I did not weigh the water to sulfate ratio), connected pure nickel (or copper wire in a second way) to the anode (+) and my steel object to the cathode (-) and set three volts on the source (I also tried some other voltage setting between 2 volts and 6 volts). My steel peace was degreased (I used both strongly degreasing alkaline bath or simply dishwashing detergent). My results in the case of nickel plating (for both black and stainless steel): steel pieces are coated by the very thin BLACK layer that can be cleaned with a sponge for dishes under running water. My results in the case of copper plating (I tried only black steel): steel pieces are coated by a rapidly increasing copper layer (I do not need to turn on the power source, just dip the steel object in the copper sulfate solution, and the cooper appears on the surface). Unfortunately, this cooper coat can be simply removed under running water only by rubbing the hand. Copper is not firmly attached to the steel. Can you help me where I do something wrong? I will be very grateful for any advice.
Hey,i understand your prob,u cant copper coat steel directly.u need to first give the steel a thin coat nickel plating,then you can plate it with copper.
Andy Walker, I bought a pack at an Ace hardware. they can be expensive. sometimes if you find items that are thick nickel plated they work. takes multi items and longer bcz the nickel is only on the outside layer. any item nickel will work.
im having trouble with my electroplating, my copper acetate isnt as dark as yours is but another guy was able to plate with a simmilar color solution. whatever part i try to plate (steel aluminum brass) gets a coating of dark brown powder on it and wipes off with a paper towel. did i maybe put too much salt? or does it need to be warm?
im just doing copper plating right now, when i successfully do that ill move on to nickel. i am using some not very clean copper pipe scrap to make my copper acetate, maybe theres impurities in it or some leftover solder even causing the problem?
Joe Gancher - if you have ever heard of triple plating [car parts, etc.] It is copper, nickel, chromium. It makes a thicker plating and each material binds well. You dont have to copper plate first, but if you want a better plate and longer/less corosion then plate copper first.
i made Ni solution with 50/50vinegar &water,salt,hydrogen peroxide,citric acid,and .999 Ni quarters ,it turned green after a couple hours but it is not plating at all when i tried it on copper penny?
That was ridiculously fast. Are you using very high concentrations? What voltage are you using? And can you demonstrate black nickel plating? I'd love to see that done.
Great video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I have used Forney 99 nickel welding rods with good success, albeit expensive! However, available (ie, Amazon, etc) these days are pure nickel metal strips that are intended for use when soldering lithium ion batteries (18650) in circuit together. These strips can be interconnected and suspended as a "necklace" around the rim of the plating bath with the tails immersed into the acetate solution....this is helpful in getting uniform coverage to the part being plated. Cheers! ... and keep up the good work!
Copper acetate can be easily produced at home reacting copper carbonate with acetic acid/vinegar. The complete home made process is getting 1: copper sulphate from the hardware store, often used as root killer in the plumbing section. 2: baking soda (calcium bicarbonate, but sodium carbonate baking powder foams less). 3: vinegar. Cleaning vinegar is better since it's typically a 30% solution so you won't have to use so much water taking up the volume. 4: start with dissolving the copper sulphate in hot water. It can be a little stubborn so be patient and stir constantly. 5: next prepare your baking soda/powder solution by mixing it water as well. Since both reagents are cheap you really don't have to worry about perfect solutions and quantities. Just prepare and equal volume of liquid for both. Its better to have an excess of baking soda solution since it can be rinsed out later. The point is to react all of the sulphate so it doesn't contaminate your final product. 6: make sure the copper sulphatw in in a container that is 3 times the volume that plan to have at the end. Now SLOWLY add the baking soda to the copper sulphate solution. It will foam A LOT and will run over the container if added too quickly. Take breaks, stir, and keep adding until no more bubbles from, then add a little more and stir for about 10 minutes. 7: let the mixture settle. You will have a light green precipitate settle to bottom while the rest of the water will be green but clear. 8: pour out the liquid keep the precipitated copper carbonate in the vessel. Add clean/distilled water at about 3 times the volume of the carbonate and stir, let settle, pour out the liquid, and repeat about 3-4 times. These washing steps are very important to get rid of the excess sodium and calcium carbonates, as well as the converted sulphates that are much more soluble than the copper carbonate. Letting these contaminates stay will ruin your plating solution as it will also plate over and create flaws in the plating that will easily flake off. 9: after the last washing and you have only your wet copper carbonate, you can add your vinegar. This won't foam very much so you don't need an over sized container. Don't be discouraged if the precipitated doesn't dissolve, but you will see a beautiful blue change in the solution. Just stir and keep adding vinegar until no more bubbles form. Then add a little more and keep stirring every so often. 10: let the solution sit over night to ensure it has completely reacted. It will smell very strongly of vinegar so don't worry about that. Next pour off the liquid and the copper acetate sludge into a coffee filter. The solution can be kept and used as the plating solution, and the sludge can be added to more vinegar to make more plating solution. 10: this is the entire process. Its a good idea to let the copper acetate lowder dry and stored in a bottle for later use. Avoid using metal bottles or caps and especially not caps with a foil lined gasket, as it will react and contaminate the product. Congratulations, that's all. A very simple home chemistry experiment with cheap products that is safe enough to handle for most ppl. Just don't pour any of it down the sink. You don't want to risk it coming into contact with metal pipes or washers that may be in your plumbing.
Ferruccio Maierna - stainless steel can be plated, but the metal has to be prepared. Stainless has chromium particles it it that prevent corrosion. These particles restrict other metals from attaching. Either, a acid bath to the metal or a nickel striking will be needed. There may be videos on the web.
Hey man you need a new or better mic. Can hear you talking! other than that stop the rambling unless that's all info you are saying. I can be sure because you need a new / better mic!
Awesome video Bryan! I really appreciate you sharing it. I need to nickel plate a piece of mild steel, like just the steel bar you find at Home Depot. I saw below that you said in another reply that stainless steel does not plate well, because it has some metal-rejecting properties. Mild steel can be nickel plated, though... correct? Also... you dipped this lug nut in copper first, and then into nickel. Was that just to show them both, or does it make things work better to copper plate, and then nickel plate?
Michael, mild steel plates very well. You need to make sure you degrease it first. As for the copper; have you heard of triple plating? Basically, it is the process done on things, like car bumpers, etc. First, they copper plate, then nickel plate, then chromium plate. Hence the name "chrome". If you copper plate and then nickel plate, you get a stonger bond and better corrosion resistance. Good luck
Did you make the copper acetate in the same way as u did the nickel acetate? i'm trying to do do in that way.. but there are getting weird SOFT copper lumps on on cathode copper pipe n also falling off n gathering under the jar . And the anode copper pipe is getting white-ish and those white stuffs are also falling off n gathering under the jar.. :S when i try to do the copper plating, the object turns black ( some kinda black layer ).. I can wipe it off n then see the copperish shade... is that what it supposed to be?
No, because of copper's chemical make up it disolves a bit different. All you need to do for copper is fill a jar with pure dustilled vinegar and a bit of peroxide and let it disolve naturally. No electricity. If you can find DEP ROOT Killer at your hardware store then you can just use that. It is pure copper crystals. Add 1/4 of the bottle to hot distilled water and salt. You can add some battery acid too.
Thanks for the response.. I tried the vinegar n peroxide method yesterday.. 50% distilled water n 50% hydrogen peroxide (6% vol 20) n put few pieces of previously cut copper pipes, left it to dissolve for like 15 minutes or more n when i got back half of the cup got foamy! n the mixture became Green! I poured the fresh part in another jar n tried electroplating but it just wasn't working.. :( the mixture still kept producing foamy stuffs even during electroplating.. :( any idea what went wrong?
elderizm - metal parts only. I have heard of people painting plastic parts with paint that has metal particles in it. Once the paint dries, then the part may be able to conduct electricity for playing.
To make the bath, just do the electrolyse of 5% clear vinegar (found in asian shops by 5L) with 2 identical ekectrodes until the bath color becomes strong enough. No added salt or anything. Just wait 24h. Current is not critical. 1A at the end for example.
Looks like you had good results. Did the plating bond well? I want to do the exact same thing. How did you do it? What chemicals, voltages etc? Thanks for posting. ps The sound wasn't that great.
Electro plating bonds very well. As long as you do 2 things: Clean the part really well, i used alcohol to wash away any grease from my skin off and then don't touch it with bare skin until after plating. And the second thing is not using too much current when plating, it's better to go "too slow", as too fast will cause it not to bond well and flake off later. Ideally you want a adjustable constant current power supply, as the current is more important to the process going well than the voltage.
i say it should be fine if you add a chloride salt to your acid bath, like salt. silver cant disolve in solutions containing chloride, you only need a small bit, maybe a teaspoon. i havent tried it but i say it could work
if the bolt is really bad then some options are: sand paper, wire wheel or wire brush, dip in acetone, rubbing alcohol, draino, etc. The point is, get the metal clean clean clean.
i just used an old cell phone charger. you can use a 9 volt battery, it just takes a little more time. if you use an old charger makes sure you figure out which is positive and negative. negative (black) always makes the "bubbles" in the solution.
Strange. Things that prevent plating could be: -oil/corrosion on steel -having the pos/neg backwards -not having good electrolyte solution. Salt and acidity to copper solution helps. -temperature of solution at 100 degrees F or better when plating. How did you make your copper solution? Did you clean the steel?
try plaiting it first with nickle ,then the copper as i read somewhere that copper will not bond to steel or aluminum without fisrt nickle plaiting it.
Copper disolves much faster than nickel. Straight distilled vinegar and copper pipe (pieces of anything copper) will disolve within 48 hrs WITHOUT the need for the electricity. I should make a copper acetate solution video
There are several recipes. I just looked at the 2 I have tried. When I made it the first time I used pure distilled vinegar, a cap full of muriatic acid and copper. Later, I tried a great recipe that was super easy and instant. It was: 1 gal distilled water 3 oz Zep root kill crystals ($9 at hardware store, solid copper sulfate pentahydrate crystals) 2 cups Battery acid (sulfuric acid) 1 cap Muriatic acid (hydrocholoric acid) 1/2 teaspoon MiraLAX (polyurethane glycerol) There is a reason for all the above ingredients. The Zep root kill is 99% pure copper. The battery acid not olny dissolves the copper, but it adds throwing power in plating (anode to the cathode). The laxative acts as a smoothing agent, makes the parts more shiny. But, all in all, if you try copper pieces and vinegar you can get a good solution over time, heck, throw some peroxide in for stabilizing the copper breakdown.
I didn't have any nickel rods to dissolve so I tried a couple US Nickels to make some, what I thought would be, nickel acetate. I was told they were nickel plated so I was going to steal the plating off them. After an hour or so into the electrical dissolving process the solution was light blue. I must've gotten past the nickel into the copper. Now I'm reading that US Nickels are mixture of the two metals and not plated. Out of curiosity I brushed some of the blue stuff onto some bare steel. The color change was really interesting. It was copper but with some purple notes. I would be curious what would be the results of mixing your copper and nickel solutions in a plating process.
J Babb Yes, US nickels have zinc and nickel mixed over copper [i think]. I have never tried mixing nickel/copper, but I would assume they would not disolve and plate the same. They conduct electricity differently and they are difference hardness.
