Thread: Kitchen chemistry- copper plating

Pauly: I actually thought about doing that, but I ended up not bothering with that and just went for the gold...er copper. I was getting pretty antsy to get this thing rolling. If it turns out to be durable I may strip the copper off and give it another shot. I think I could probably put the plated part back into fresh vinegar and it would strip it off. If I wanted to shove the equilibrium even further I could drop a couple steel nails in with it to suck up copper maybe. Might add iron back to the razor too though, I would have to think about that one.

The other idea I had was to push the reaction using an electric potential. I know the overall reduction potential of the rxn is about -0.1, but I'm not sure where the cathode and anode would go... it's been a long time since I've seen any electrochemistry.

edit: Okay, after having researched a little bit more, what I did was actually deposition, not plating. Essentially the copper, in the form of copper acetate, has effectively "landed" on the steel, not bound to it. In order to get it to bind permanently one would have to use a cyanide based solution, or a pyrophosphate copper solution. Sure, I could use both of those safely with my background, but I really don't want to. Maybe I will try a finish over the copper. CA, laquer, epoxy? I suppose we shall see.

I wonder if I used some spent brass shells instead of the copper pennies; any idea if it will work?

you can probably find a inexpensive plating kit..... i remember a friend had one to do gold plating... he would put some *(allegedly gold containing) liquid on the metal to be plated and then connect electrodes just a touch of sizzle sound and it turned gold colored.....

Originally Posted by paco664

you can probably find a inexpensive plating kit..... i remember a friend had one to do gold plating... he would put some *(allegedly gold containing) liquid on the metal to be plated and then connect electrodes just a touch of sizzle sound and it turned gold colored.....

To truly PLATE copper you need to use some nasty chemicals. Either an arsenic-copper chelate, or a copper pyrophosphate compound, neither of which I really want to mess with in an apartment. Not because I'm scared of them or don't know how to work with them, but what if I spilled it on something? Goodbye deposit!

Originally Posted by adbuett

To truly PLATE copper you need to use some nasty chemicals. Either an arsenic-copper chelate, or a copper pyrophosphate compound, neither of which I really want to mess with in an apartment. Not because I'm scared of them or don't know how to work with them, but what if I spilled it on something? Goodbye deposit!

I might just try the Kitchen Chemistry Copper plating. It seems easy, safer, and inexpensive. Copper I believe is a softer alloy than brass so it will break down better in the acetic acid (aka vinegar) than brass; if brass breaks down in vinegar at all. I'm not metallurgist, but I know a little bit about the components of both. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, and copper is a pure metal ore. An US penny made after 1982 is made up of copper plated zinc. So when the penny reacts to the vinegar, it's lifting the plating off the zinc penny and element is reattaching itself to the steel of the razor.

You probably already know about this option.......Caswell Inc. - Plug N' Plate® Brush Plating Systems

Originally Posted by randydance062449

You probably already know about this option.......Caswell Inc. - Plug N' Plate® Brush Plating Systems

thats pretty much what my buddy was using..........

Originally Posted by randydance062449

You probably already know about this option.......Caswell Inc. - Plug N' Plate® Brush Plating Systems

No, I hadn't really started out with any intention of plating; I stumbled across that penny thing and decided to give it a whirl. It was done on a razor that I had to cut .5" off the end, and it has some surface defects toward the spine so I figured I couldn't ruin a blade that I didn't have much hope for to begin with. But thanks for the link, that looks pretty neat! If I end up liking the look when all is said and done I will probably look into that.

Update: I just put two coats of gorilla glue super glue on the tang and plan on finishing up the rest of the blade and then sanding the CA smooth. I will post pics of the finished product after pinning.