Household Electroplating Guide: Using ATX Power Supply, Electrolyte Solution & Cables

Hello.

Recently, I've been toying with hydrogen and got a "by-product". Namely:

Do you need to galvanize or cover another metal with metal?

Will be needed:
- power supply (e.g. ordinary ATX from a computer)
- any vessel that can hold the object and electrodes (e.g. a jar)
- some electrolyte (let's say a salt solution with water)
- cable
- the metal we want to cover with another metal

We go to work.

To run the ATX power supply "dry", cut the green wire and any black wire and short them (connect). The power supply will be able to walk freely.

Next, we prepare the power supply and power cables. You need to cut the orange and blue cables (PIN 11 and PIN 12 in the attached drawing). In this case, the blue wire is the cathode (-) and the orange wire is the anode (+).



Further we prepare the jar. Pour a little salt into it (the more salt, the better the water conductivity) and mix it with water.

If, for example, we want to cover the steel with copper, we need to connect the wire, a copper rod to the anode and the steel to the cathode. Metals cannot touch in water!

We put the electrodes in the jar. We connect them to the current according to the anode and cathode. In order for the short-circuit current not to be too high (the power supply will then turn off), it is best to pull out the cathode, start the power supply and insert it.

Then you just have to wait for the metal to be covered with the amount of metal you want.


Attention! During the reaction, hydrogen is released, which when combined in a ratio of 2: 1 with air creates a strong explosive mixture! Away from fire and sparks! Watch out for short circuits!

If you have any suggestions or questions, write to me by e-mail or by e-mail. I will definitely answer. Of course, comment on the forum

In a significant simplification and of poor quality, you can combine this; in fact, it is a more complex process. The surface must be carefully prepared, and the bath must be properly selected, also the intensity of the current (adjustment necessary). For those who are interested, I recommend Stefan Sękowski's book "Domestic Galvanotechnics"

in the example given "for example copper-plated steel" how many teaspoons of salt would be needed per liter jar? Very interesting article, I will definitely use it.

Pour just enough to make the salt about 3-5 cm at the bottom or more so that the salt can dissolve.

cool patent I will definitely use it

andrzej3393 wrote:

cool patent I will definitely use it

And she comes out sneezes. I dealt with these topics a quarter of a century ago out of necessity. From what I remember, the bath is based on copper sulphate with some additives. On sodium chloride (table salt) you will also do so much that it will come after some time (I also thought so at the beginning). The object must be cleaned, degreased and etched before electroplating. The bath temperature is also important to obtain a good quality coating.

Zdzicho44 * I support your opinion (if it were that simple, there would be no physicists and chemists in the world anymore) All physics and chemistry is based on receiving "something" in a specific reaction and under specific conditions, e.g. (if you know what I'm talking about)

a copper rod for the anode and steel for the anode.




what should be finally under the anode?

I think it should be steel for the anode.

I used to play with it and I will say that it makes no sense. It covers unevenly (sometimes not even at all, because everything sinks to the bottom).

Because cupric chloride is insoluble in water, whoever etched the plates in ferric chloride knows. Therefore, cupric sulfate and many other compounds are used. There are many baths, including cyanides used in industry (highly poisonous).

You can use, for example, electrolyte for car batteries ... home method and what is in the "recipe" probably everyone has at home, except for an unnecessary power supply ...

Added after 3 [minutes]:

You can also use it for rust removal and cleaning of metal parts.

Rust as much as possible. Then the workpiece as anode. You have to select the electricity and control the process, because it can cause terrible pits.

zdzicho44 wrote:

Because cupric chloride is insoluble in water, whoever etched the plates in ferric chloride knows.

It is as soluble as possible, as anyone who etched the plates knows, because the solution turns green, which comes from copper ions, or rather from complexes formed due to excess chloride ions (copper ions themselves give a blue color).
What precipitates out is insoluble iron hydroxide.

As for the method itself, unfortunately the results will be poor. If the surface is not properly prepared, the copper layer will come off. If a gap forms in such a coating, the rate of electrochemical corrosion will increase significantly in the presence of moisture. This is how it is when coatings of more noble metals are applied to less noble ones. More precisely, they are metals with a higher standard potential over metals with a lower standard potential. Good durability is achieved if both metals have a potential greater than hydrogen, for example a gold coating on copper, but iron unfortunately has a potential less than hydrogen.

shg wrote:

zdzicho44 wrote:

Because cupric chloride is insoluble in water, whoever etched the plates in ferric chloride knows.

It is as soluble as possible, as anyone who etched the plates knows, because the solution turns green, which comes from copper ions, or rather from complexes formed due to excess chloride ions (copper ions themselves give a blue color).
What precipitates out is insoluble iron hydroxide.

Not only, LOOK but also insoluble cuprous chloride , of course cupric chloride it is soluble in water.

Thank you, colleague Quarz, for the amendment. For a quarter of a century I did not look at the salt and hydroxide solubility table - hence the error (awy). It does not change the fact that it is not a proper copper bath. During the communist regime, when it was hard to find ferric chloride, the tiles were digested in salt electrolytically (amateurish, of course). This removed most of the copper. It was then that the said cuprous chloride was formed, which in the form of a suspension contaminated the solution. Then it was digested in citric acid with the addition of hydrogen peroxide. How can you make the chlorine form only cuprous, not cuprous, in this process?
After the weekend, (if I do not forget) I will give the composition of the copper bath according to PSSękowski - for those interested. Copper gives the coating quite tight and protects the steel well, as long as it is not damaged. they often copper electrical components to make it imitate copper.
Copper plating is also used as a nickel plating primer.

In turn, I am most irritated by Chinese trash - plastic coated with metal by means of electroplating. It is impossible to check even what is inside and the magnet attracts. The only method is to break it - on the example of Chinese Carrefour screwdrivers.

Well, I will also ask here, maybe I will get an answer ...

The story is long, but the gist is as follows. I have a brake piston. A bit corroded, and something had to be done about it. I thought, I searched, and I came up with it. As if I did electrolysis first, then treated the whole thing with a rust remover - it should be perfect (ah, theory).

We fly.

I poured about 10 liters of warm water into the bucket, poured two tablespoons of baking soda and stabbed it. I put the brake piston in, connected it to the minus. On the other side of the bucket, I put a metal, threaded rod, connected it to the plus of the battery, and the battery to the charger and fire.

Beautiful, bubbles are flying.

Quarter an hour -> beautiful, the water is getting dirty.

Nocka, beautiful, silt as hell, the color of shit is rusty and a pile of other debris is rinsing, something's going on. After the night I changed the water, waited another 8-10 hours and then took out the patient. The rust may have disappeared (but the whole thing was probably too short), but now the plunger is covered with some sediment ... It has a dark green color, even falling into black and gray ... It is matte. Maybe not rough, but it's not slippery. The question is ... How do I remove it? Was I doing everything right? Maybe it is better to use table salt instead of baking soda? Is this method effective and profitable with home remedies? All in all, it's just wood removal, not some other metal coating, it should be ok, but I ask.

What would happen if I connected the whole thing to more voltage? Is it true that after such an operation the decolored element will rust faster, so it should be secured? Write, write, write I know I have a lot of questions, but I'm counting on help

The rusted item should be connected to the plus. This coating is iron. You take it off the same method, but you have to watch it, not go to sleep, because in the morning you will have a strainer from the plunger. here is a link to > http://kubajawax.friko.pl/chrom

Can anyone confirm this? Maybe a link, specifically regarding re-renewal? At least for some of my questions:]

All methods performed worse than in the description of "Domestic electroplating" by Sękowski, are not suitable for any use,
the methods described in this book are simplified to the maximum
and their further simplification leads to crap

NaCl in copper plating is used as a chloride additive, not as a base

steel will in no case be covered with an adhesive coating from the bath
based on CuSO4

by covering the steel with copper from the sulphate bath, we obtain a piece of copper foil that can be torn off the steel surface

yes, the steel is covered with copper industrially, but first you give a sticky copper base from cyanide baths and then thicken it
the coating conventionally in a CuSO4 bath

12V power supplies are not used, but the current intensity is A / dm2
regulated power supply 0.5-2V is enough, current efficiency is more important

Greetings.

Electrolytic method
The most difficult, and at the same time the best method of removing corrosion products is the electrolytic method.
Its advantages include high speed, efficiency, full selectivity of operation, and sometimes even smoothing the surface thanks to the electropolishing effect.
The electrolyte in which the derusting takes place is a hot, concentrated solution of sodium gluconate.
Carbon sticks are the cathode, and the cleaned steel object is the anode.
In sodium gluconate solutions, only the rust dissolves and the exposed steel surface is simultaneously micro-smooth.
This detail is extremely important, because all acid etchings, even with the addition of inhibitors, roughen the steel surface and develop it.
After removing the rust with acids, a rough surface is obtained, very strongly developed, i.e. extremely sensitive to corrosion attacks.
On the other hand, the micro-smoothing occurring in gluconates gives a completely smooth surface, much more resistant to corrosion.
It is worth emphasizing once again that only corrosion products dissolve in gluconates, without damaging the substrate even in the slightest.
Therefore, this method is used for valuable and very delicate products.

So don't come without sodium gluconate?

I have a question for the knowledgeable then.
I was looking for a place on the forum, but this topic is probably best suited to my post.
I will deviate a bit from the topic of electroplating, but my point is that in the motor's engine I have a terribly oxidized head (AK12 alloy). It looks very ugly because it is rough, dark and with some efflorescence. How can it be removed from these foci of corrosion? Mechanical removal didn't help, and besides, the heat sinks are close together and you won't get the whole thing. The only solution would be electrolysis (if I used the wrong word, correct me). Am I able to etch these oxides on the aluminum head at home?
I am asking for advice.

zdzicho44 wrote:

andrzej3393 wrote:

cool patent I will definitely use it

And she comes out sneezes. I dealt with these topics a quarter of a century ago out of necessity. From what I remember, the bath is based on copper sulphate with some additives. On sodium chloride (table salt) you will also do so much that it will come after some time (I also thought so at the beginning). The object must be cleaned, degreased and etched before electroplating. The bath temperature is also important to obtain a good quality coating.

By allowing the release of hydrogen, we alkalize the cathode space - and then no copper is released on the cathode, but a copper (II) hydroxide deposit around it.
The voltage and the current density must be reduced to minimize the evolution of hydrogen.

Hello
I will stick to the topic. I mean the home method of electroplating, but let's say alu rims I'm talking about Chrome plating is it aug wogule will do ??
thanks in advance

greemtroll and krrm. Knowledge about what you can do at home is contained in the book by S. Sękowski. A link to its content was included in the post from May 19, 2008. (a few posts above) Must read.

zdzicho44 wrote:

Remove rust as much as possible, then workpiece as an anode. You have to select the electricity and control the process, because it can cause terrible pits.

Are you sure the item has been rusted as an anode? and not as a cathode?
In my case, when an object has been detached as a cathode, it works, and otherwise, it does not

Chrome plating - what the process looks like and how to prepare a chrome bath
Chrome plating - bath preparation http://www.galwanizernie.pl/articles/17
Chrome plating - information http://www.galwanizernie.pl/articles/26