Hello Everyone.
After all that discussion last week about patina on silver with
Liver of Sulfur, I have decided to give it a try. The one piece of
info I seemed to have missed, or was never discussed, was a source of
the sulfur. Where is the best place to get small quantities locally?
Can you find it at drug stores? (I’m in Ventura/Los Angeles if it
matters) Should I just order it off the internet somewhere?
And then about electroplating… A long time ago, in a land not so
far away, before I became a Jedi, there was a science fair experiment
where I electroplated a key with copper. It was one of the high
points of my elementary school career. The experiment consisted of a
half milk carton as a non-conducting container, a solution of vinegar
and something else (?) , a strip of pure copper hooked up to a
battery, as an electrode dangling from one edge of the container into
the solution, and a brass key dangling from the other edge submerged
into the solution. I think the key may also have been hooked to the
opposite pole of the battery. In a few days time, I had a completely
copper covered key that polished up real nice and still opened the
door. In fact, I proudly used that copper key for the next 6 years
until we moved. Does anyone know how to replicate this experiment,
I’ve always wanted to know how, what the solution was, how to hook up
the battery correctly, etc, but don’t have the kids library book I got
it from, and am now thinking of trying to silver plate a brass
medallion a friend of mine has in a similar manner. None of my Jewelry
books really explains the electroplating process in a home cooking
sort of way, and I haven’t had any luck looking around on the internet
for such experiments.
Thanks for any tips you may have!
-Drew Horn
www.fiodh.com
http://inventors.about.com/science/inventors/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?si
te=http: //www.douglas%2Dplating.co.uk/student.htm%23g
if you use aol you need to drop the - http:// - part to get the site.
aaand this is a cool place to get plating stuff don’t know if they
are the cheapest but they sent the book i ordered asap. arrived in two
days. seem to be nice people. also good source for small qauntities of
sand for sand casting stuff. their site is www.caswellplating.com
Talk to you later Dave Otto
After all that discussion last week about patina on silver
with Liver of Sulfur, ..... Where is the best place to get small
quantities locally? Can you find it at drug stores?
G’day Andrew Horn; This one crops up often. Some - but very few -
pharmacies stock it, but might get it in for you if asked nicely
(with folding money visible perhaps)
But (once more into the breach, dear friends) go to a garden shop
and buy much more cheaply, a small bottle of LIME SULPHUR; it is used
as a environmentally friendly spray for fungus on plants. Works on
silver and brass and copper if you clean the surfaces free from
grease, just like the liver of sulphur (potassium polysulphide) If you
use it indoors, the lady of the house will come at you with rolling
pin or broom - it literally stinks the house out like rotten eggs!
And then about electroplating... (using copper strip, vinegar
and a battery ) ... Does anyone know how to replicate this
experiment...? I've always wanted to know how, what the solution
was, how to hook up the battery correctly, etc,
Just try exactly what you wrote, connecting a wire from the NEGATIVE
battery terminal to what you want to plate, and the POSITIVE terminal
to the strip of copper. If bubbles start to rise visibly you need to
lower the voltage - use a 1.5 volt cell, or place the electrodes
further and further apart. A crystal or two of COPPER SULPHATE in the
plating bath may help if nothing seems to happen. But try it without
first. Copper sulphate is also sold quite cheaply in garden shops -
for mixing with water and lime as ‘bordeaux mixture’ to use against
the dreaded black spot disease.
Cheers now, from the friendly, mad scientist.
John Burgess; @John_Burgess2 of Mapua Nelson NZ