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How do you electroplate flowers, leaves,
animal skulls, and other organic materials?
This was the very first question asked when www.finishing.com went
on line, and has been asked again and again as the years go by.
Please start by reading "How to get
started in plating". Having read it, you know that you're
not going to attempt this at home; also, you've been to AESF
meetings and are generally familiar with plating, you have on hand
some of the books and magazines we've recommended, so you're really
asking how to metallize the surface so that you can start
electroplating. You may want to consult the chapter "Metallizing
Nonconductors" in the Metal Finishing Guidebook.
There are five metallization processes
that I am know of; you will choose one depending on the nature of the
substrate and the end use of the item:
- Probably the easiest to understand
approach is simply paint that contains metal particles or flakes,
usually silver. This is used on, for example, surface-mount
electronic components to make them plateable and ultimately
solderable.
- You can apply a spray of colloidal
conductive material, either carbon or metal. Actually, this is not
very different than the first approach except that the particles
are extremely fine, and the process is designed specifically and
exclusively for the purpose of allowing fine decorative plating on
non-conductors. Acheson
Colloids of Port Huron, MI is a
well known supplier, and offers a number of solutions in their
Aquadag and Electrodag
series. Conductive Technologies of Duncan, SC offers a sprayable
conductive coating, and a compatible pre-sealer for porous
materials.
- I'm not really familiar with it, but
there are the solutions designed for brushing onto ceramics and
then firing in an oven. The familiar gold edging you would see on
fine china is an example. One supplier is Hawking International
Ltd, The Stenders, Mitcheldean, Glos, UK; they call their product
"Liquid Bright Gold".
- Two-part silvering solutions are used
for many different applications. You simultaneously spray a
soluble silver salt and a reducing agent in order to reduce silver
metal onto the item in question. Some suppliers are Jema-American [Dunnellen, NJ] and Agate
Lacquer [L.I.C., NY].
- The fifth and most complex method is the
one usually done for plating on plastics: after you etch the
material to give it some tooth, you dip it into stannous chloride
or palladium chloride, or both in sequence, and then use the seeds
that you have thus formed as the nucleating points for electroless
copper or electroless nickel deposition. This is usually a high
volume industrial process and invariably relies on proprietary
chemistries available from the major suppliers like Technic.
- [Courtesy of a response from Mitchell
Heldt, 4/13/01, a 6th method is "I have vacuum metalized glass.
The method should work for bone or other substances that can
handle a little heat. Once a thin layer of metal is deposited the
surface adheres to other metals. While the melting point of some
metals is quite high, when only a few atoms hit at a time, the
heat is easily absorbed].
It is important to remember that this is a carefully honed art,
and you certainly should not expect to get the same kind of results
in early trials as are achieved by artisans who have been working for
decades to perfect their trade. You also need to realize that plating
chemicals are aggressive, and you will probably have to develop some
techniques with wax or lacquers to keep the plating chemicals from
attacking the organic materials. If the item is important to you,
don't take a chance trying to plate it until you are really good.
See the cover story of Plating & Surface Finishing, Dec. 1996, "Preserving Nature At Enchanted Gold--An
Art & a Commitment" -- it doesn't tell you how to do it, but the
photos of their work are certainly an inspiration! You will also see
such items for sale on the web; try the keywords "gold plated
orchids" in the search engines.
We're working hard to make these pages the place you come to for
all your finishing needs. Please e-mail your suggestions to:
Ted Mooney, P.E.
<mooney@finishing.com>
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