As an Amazon Associate & eBay Partner: we earn from qualifying purchases

Please forgive the very slow page loading. We are suffering a Chinese DDOS attack thumbsdown

it will pass.

finishing.com -- The Home Page of the Finishing Industry

-----

Art student looking to plate copper onto steel

I am currently working on a sculpture that I wish to electroplate. It is hot-rolled steel and I only want to plate a specific section of it. From what I read on this site, I think I can do this with immersion plating using copper sulphate. Is there another process that will work better? Or if the immersion plating is the way to go, how would I go about doing it on a reasonably large scale (the part that I want to plate is 9 ft x 6 in)? Or, ultimately, would I have to take this to a plating shop?

Laura Garcia
Art Student - El Paso, Texas, United States
February 11, 2009

Hi, Laura. An immersion copper deposit will be very thin and it will not have any shine to it at all; rather it will be a raw, salmon-toned deposit.

I think you would be better off looking into brush plating a thin layer of nickel (nickel strike) and following it by copper electroplating with the same brush plating setup.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Ted is available for instant help
or longer-term assistance.
February 12, 2009

No dead threads! If this page isn't already on the Hotline your Q, A, or Comment will move it there.

Q, A, or Comment on THIS thread -or- Start a NEW Thread

Disclaimer: It's not possible to fully diagnose a finishing problem or the hazards of an operation via these pages. All information presented is for general reference and does not represent a professional opinion nor the policy of an author's employer. The internet is largely anonymous & unvetted; some names may be fictitious and some recommendations might be harmful.

If you are seeking a product or service related to metal finishing, please check these Directories: