Some time ago I got interested in the basics of amateur electroplating because I wanted to nickel-plate the tip of a soldering iron.
An excellent Wikipedia article gives more than enough information for beginners, but it was really the YouTube videos that got me decided to try this at home.
In theory, by hooking up the metal we wish to transfer on the anode(positive), and the other piece of metal at the cathode(negative electrode) and we place the whole frankenthing into a certain conductive solution, we get electroplating.
As with every craft, there’s more to it than just that. A LOT more! But yesterday I celebrated a first successful plating of a copper bar into something resembling stainless steel. It’s definitely not “chroming” because obviously the result is not pure chrome…
I thought of doing a tutorial on how I did this but it’s too dangerous and I’m not an expert, obviously, to be able to provide you with all the caveats for a 100% safe experiment. So I couldn’t recommend anyone messing around with electricity, acids and possibly toxic fumes without putting you at risk. I decided to just share my photos so you see that with a very simple setup you can achieve some interesting results.
If you’re interested in the process, YouTube has plenty of professionals demonstrating the process. Don’t try this if you’re not used to working with electricity and chemicals. Some dangerous fumes are produced during SOME processes(not this one I used) so beware of the nickel and acids recommended on some YouTube videos.
Initial copper bar, dipped in vinegar and salt to remove oily finger stains, then rubbed with a soft steel wool to remove dirt.
I needed some chrome, so I used this handle I found lying around.
I found an old refrigerator drawer and mixed some home ingredients in, among which are vinegar, lemons and salt. If you go for stronger, industrial-strength acids, beware of the fumes that are produced. You should also take great care in disposing of the experiment chemicals later or store them in a safe location.
The cathode, or the metal receiving the plating, seems to boil during the process. If you’re doing this right, it should not be very hot at all, just a bit warm. It is actually liberating hydrogen and gases as a result of the hydro-thingy-whatever reaction. I wasn’t sure exactly what was coming out, so I had a fan ventilating the workshop at all times. I wouldn’t do this in a basement or closed garage.
After we remove the bar from the acid, we immediately wash it in running water and then polish it slightly with a soft steel wool.
Many previous attempts were less than satisfactory.
I think some of the iron from exposed parts of the handle got transferred as well because this looks a lot like a mix of chrome and iron…it is definitely not pure chrome.
