ElectroLESS platinf materials suppliers in UK
neilr
I'm trying to find a supplier in the UK (or mainland Europe) for ElectroLESS
Plating supplies (chemicals). Typically this is used to copper/silver/gold
plate objects such as baby shoes etc.
Any guidance or pointers to possible suppliers very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Neil
Andy Dingley
wrote:
>I'm trying to find a supplier in the UK (or mainland Europe) for ElectroLESS
>Plating supplies (chemicals).
Electroless is not the process to be using on non-conductors. They are
plated by an electrolytic process, but onto a conductive layer deposited
ther emechanically beforehand.
Copper plating supplies are dead easy - try a farm shop. A few kg of
copper sulphate is a tenner (it's used to treat foot fungal infections
in sheep) and conc. sulphuric acid is a couple of quid a bottle (drain
cleaner).
Acid copper plate is an easy process to work with, but not a good idea
on steel. Steel needs to be plated with either a cyanide copper process,
or flashed with nickel first.
For electroless nickel plating it's about 50 quid for a Caswell kit from
Speed Demon motorbikes (UK distributor). Interleaving copper and nickel
gives a stiffer plate than one metal alone (useful when electroforming
onto non-conductors). Electroless nickel is good because it avoids the
current density problems that dog nickel plating generally, giving rise
to dark areas and shadowing.
Now the hard part - plating onto non-conductors. The preparation to use
here is Acheson's Aquadag, a suspension of colloidal graphite.
Electrodag (from the same people) does not work. This is very awkward
to get hold of in the UK, unless you're either a school or buying gallon
quantities. If you find a suitable supplier, please let me know! My
experiments for alternatives are not particularly successful so far.
neilr
"Andy Dingley" <din...@codesmiths.com> wrote in message
news:81l0s1hfjcfi0hb13...@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 17 Dec 2005 19:07:26 -0000, "neilr" <ne...@NOSPAMpages-uk.com>
> wrote:
>
>>I'm trying to find a supplier in the UK (or mainland Europe) for
>>ElectroLESS
>>Plating supplies (chemicals).
>
> Electroless is not the process to be using on non-conductors. They are
> plated by an electrolytic process, but onto a conductive layer deposited
> ther emechanically beforehand.
>
Andy: many thanks for the advice. I've done some electroplating in the
past - small jewellery items in gold. The reason I've been considering the
electroless process is (although I've not experienced it myself) I'm told
that items having holes, deep pits and very irregular shapes are very
difficult to plate. Seemingly the holes and pits don't get plated
sufficiently, as the more accessible surface areas attract the metal more
readily. Is this really the case in your experience or have you found this
to be less of a problem?
Also I read that some stuff referred to as 'brighteners' should be added to
the solution - any idea what this stuff is and where I can get it in the UK?
One more thing - is it possible to apply a true bronze finish coat to
produce that dark/polished patina, or is the finished copper coat treated
with some chemical to make it appear so?
Any more info on this process much appreciated.
__
Neil
Andy Dingley
wrote:
>The reason I've been considering the
>electroless process is (although I've not experienced it myself) I'm told
>that items having holes, deep pits and very irregular shapes are very
>difficult to plate.
Yes, this is the case. It's most noticeable on nickel, as that gives
colour variations with quite small variations in current. If you're
worried about awkward shapes, then look into electroforming, not just
electroplating - there are techniques to work around these problems.
If you were (for instance) going to tool up to plate baby's shoes
regularly, I imagine you'd soon have a set of "overboot" styled anodes
to use when plating them, so that the distances.(and thus the currents)
are constant all around.
>Also I read that some stuff referred to as 'brighteners' should be added to
>the solution - any idea what this stuff is and where I can get it in the UK?
I have pretty good access to most lab chemicals, but I can't source many
of the various brighteners. They're not common chemicals, outside
plating, and so they're only available in quite large quantities.
However a plating supplier (like Caswell) includes them in their kits.
<http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/>
They're not necessary for all processes either, or if you're going to do
much polishing/patination work on the plated surface afterwards.
>One more thing - is it possible to apply a true bronze finish coat to
>produce that dark/polished patina, or is the finished copper coat treated
>with some chemical to make it appear so?
These are generally done (for copper) by patinating it afterwards. For
nickel and some chrome work, there are formulations that apply a
coloured plate directly.
Copper (and copper-based alloys) are a popular starting point for
patination, because there are so many processes you can use. _The_ book
on patination is "The Colouring, Bronzing and Patination of Metals"
<http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0500015015/codesmiths>
which is expensive, but worth borrowing from the library.
A bit cheaper, although less comprehensive, is Tim McCreight's "Color on
Metal"
<http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1893164063/codesmiths>
Generally copper patination is easy, so long as you have access to some
minor toxic metal salts (nickel sulphate etc) and nitric acid. Otherwise
you can buy some simpler ready-made patination fluids from Liberon etc
<http://www.axminster.co.uk/recno/6/product-Liberon-Antiquing-Fluid-Tourmaline-23517.htm>
Note that technique and precise alloy are both important in controlling
colour. You may find that the same materials used hot are different to
cold, or that effects on some bronzes are different to others - worth
experimenting.
>Any more info on this process much appreciated.
Get hold of a cheap little book called "Electroplating" by J Poyner,
one of the Workshop Practice Series
<http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0852428626/codesmiths>
You might find this more easily through eBay, or a specialist bookshop
such as Camden Miniature Steam Services
<http://www.camdenmin.co.uk/collect.htm>
This book is quick and simple to read and gives a good grounding as far
as it goes. It also covers electroforming. However it completely ignores
the old cyanide processes, which are worth knowing about (although
rather impractical to use). There's an older edition of a similar book,
"Electro-Plating for the Amateur" by L. Warburton (Model & Allied
Publications, ISBN 0853440565) which is fairly common on eBay and does
cover them.
Also worth tracking down is a commercial plating handbook by "Canning",
who supplied the UK plating industries for years. Their recipes are all
in the form "Add 4 lbs of Canning Plate-o-matic Powder to a gallon of
water" and don't tell you what the chemistry is, but you can learn a lot
on techniques from it (especially about anodes).
You'll also want a power supply. These are still complex and not exactly
cheap, but much better than they were in Warburton's day! I use a very
expensive electronics lab PSU that allows current limits to be dialed
straight in - lovely to use and very simple to monitor (I hardly need
to), but expensive. I imagine Maplin would be a good place to start
looking. It _is_ worth measuring surface areas, working out current
densities etc - it makes a big difference, especially when working with
non-conductors.
Here's a piece one of my friends did recently (mixed metals, mainly
plastic, then copper plated and patinated)
<http://www.jarkman.co.uk/catalog/random/butterfly.htm>
He also does electro-etching (scratched bitumen resist)
<http://www.jarkman.co.uk/catalog/random/remindingaxe.htm>
At present I have a pair of boots to do (large walking boots), but I
can't find any Aquadag !
--
Socialism: Eric, not Tony