How to Electroplate Metallic Items

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Gather your materials.

   (see things you need.) It is best to also have some tape, paper or regular towels, and a spill proof surface (i.e. a table, floor, or desk, not carpet).
2. 2

   Step 2: Learn about what you will be doing.

   Everything in this deals with the idea that an electrical current will carry electrically-conductive particulates along the current in a fluid (air or water) medium.
   
   This property is used in many aspects of daily life, such as gold-plated steel wires (used in false necklaces), gold-plated micro circuitry (for protection), and other things.
   
   With this in mind, we must now go to properties of electrically-conductive materials.
   
   Certain requirements must be met chemically in order for something to be electrically conductive.
   
   One such property is that the object must have a less than 8 electrons in the upper energy level.
   
   This allows the material to share electrons with surrounding substances, including electrons.
   
   This means that water would be non conductive since it has all the electrons necessary to satisfy the energy levels of the two hydrogen atoms and the oxygen atom.
   
   WHAT!? you might say, but this is true.
   
   The only reason you hear about people being electrocuted through water is because it has impurities in it, which allow electrical currents to pass through it. , Use vinegar and table salt.
   
   Each on its own is electrically conductive, allowing for OH- on part of the acid and H+ with the salt.
   
   So why mix the two? Well, this allows certain properties to combine to form a better substance.
   
   In this case, the salt allows for conductivity that is amplified in the presence of an acid.
   
   How about the electrical source? What's up with the high-amperage low-voltage source? This explanation requires you to have a little bit of knowledge about electricity itself.
   
   Voltage is the relative speed that the current flows through the substance.
   
   Amperage is the overall energy that the current has.
   
   High energy in this is critical to have larger atoms cross the space between the anode, the negative terminal (which is the plated), and the cathode, the positive terminal (the plater).
   
   We also want low relative speed in this or else the atoms can't stay in the current and we end up with a stinky mess (which nobody wants that, right?). ,,,,, Plater on the positive terminal, plated on the negative. , After you do this step, you should see bubbles forming and fizzing out.
   
   These are hydrogen and oxygen bubbles ,,,,
3. 3

   Step 3: Make the medium.

4. 4

   Step 4: Attach a wire to both the item you want to plate

5. 5

   Step 5: and the energy source.

6. 6

   Step 6: Find the object you want to electroplate in (a half of a gallon jug of milk that is rinsed works well) and add about half of a liter of the acid (preferably vinegar) to it.

7. 7

   Step 7: Add about 10 grams of salt in and stir.

8. 8

   Step 8: Repeat this until you can't dissolve any more salt

9. 9

   Step 9: which is when you see salt at the bottom that doesn't dissolve after you stir for a while

10. 10

    Step 10: Attach the wires with the metallic objects to the battery.

11. 11

    Step 11: Put the metallic objects into the acid/salt solution.

12. 12

    Step 12: Watch to make sure that nothing wrong happens.

13. 13

    Step 13: Let this sit for about 5 minutes or until desired thickness is achieved.

14. 14

    Step 14: Disconnect the wires at the battery

15. 15

    Step 15: and remove your objects you just have electroplated.

16. 16

    Step 16: Let the items sit on a towel or paper towel for about fifteen minutes

17. 17

    Step 17: then use your fingers to remove the excess metal from the object you plated.

Detailed Guide

About the Author