Is That Copper I See

[Whi-ja]

Yep. I'm a BIG fan of copper and love the plumbing sections at hardware stores. If you figure out a good copper-plating solution, I hope you'll let us know. The attempts to coat MHS aluminum for me have been iffy as well.

[darth_chasm]

I haven't really messed with it since, but the first attempt was straight into the solution and the only areas that showed any reaction were the grooves and the cut ends. Then on the second attempt I just sanded a small patch right before dipping it and that's what you see in the pic. When I get to it, I'm going to give the entire surface a quick sanding right before and leave it in a bit longer.

[PhoenixHawk]

Well done darth chasm...you got it right...roughing up with some 400 grit to give the copper something to grab a hold of ...and letting it build up a bit so if you want to polish to a mirror finish you have thick enough layer to work with.

[Whi-ja]

I usually scrub parts with a fine Brill pad and some heavy duty cleaner like Greased Lightning before etching. Maybe do that before plating the Aluminum. I and cruelly need to get back to playing experiments myself. I tried it once and just haven't gone back to it yet.

[rlobrecht]

Laying the copper into an etched area could look really nice.

[darth_chasm]

Another brass to copper experiment. Really impressed with how nicely this came out. In the solution for about 15-20 mins at 550mA, then 20-30 mins at 250mA. Polished up with #0000 steel wool.