TomH 2,732 Posted July 28 After seeing Bedrock Bobs copper plated bugs I decided to play around a bit. Had an old quartz crystal that I glued to a base, painted it with conductive paint and plated it for about 3 hrs in the copper bath. Im going to let the copper pantina into blue/purple and then seal it with lacquer. Came out kind of cool I think. Now to find some bugs! Nothing will be safe now. Tom H. 11 2 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pairadiceau 165 Posted July 28 Thats really cool Tom, look out bugs! 1 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LowPoint 1,242 Posted July 28 Hey Tom,...Pretty Cool,....If that is pendant-size you could attach a gold or copper chain to it and list it on EBAY. I bet you would get a real good response from some of those "old" quartz-crystal-heads (hippies) from the early 50's and 60's that attached mystical-value to them. I have actually sold a number of quartz crystals on EBAY over the years. Gary 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomH 2,732 Posted July 28 1 hour ago, LowPoint said: Hey Tom,...Pretty Cool,....If that is pendant-size you could attach a gold or copper chain to it and list it on EBAY. I bet you would get a real good response from some of those "old" quartz-crystal-heads (hippies) from the early 50's and 60's that attached mystical-value to them. I have actually sold a number of quartz crystals on EBAY over the years. Gary The thought had crossed my mind Tom 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sonoran Dave 2,070 Posted July 29 That came out really cool!!! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomH 2,732 Posted July 30 4 hours ago, Sonoran Dave said: That came out really cool!!! Tks Dave....think about things to do this with.....you have a way more creative mind than I do. If you get some cool bugs we can make them last forever. Tom H. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sonoran Dave 2,070 Posted July 30 7 hours ago, TomH said: Tks Dave....think about things to do this with.....you have a way more creative mind than I do. If you get some cool bugs we can make them last forever. Tom H. I'll keep my eyes peeled! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 3,768 Posted July 30 What kind of power supply do you use Tom? What voltage? It looks really good! My friend puts them in for days. I didn't know you could do one so fast.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomH 2,732 Posted July 30 Bob: Its just a regular lab power supply. Variable. 8 volt 300 amp. I had it in for about 3 hrs at 1 amp. My bath make up is probably different from hers. Plating baths have more sulfuric acid in them and I also have levelers/brightners that I have to keep at certain levels for a smooth plate. The lower the amperage, the smoother the CU plate will be. On another note. I am thinking about trying to make a conductive silver paint like the one I have now. It is too expensive though at 300.00 for 8 oz. The thinning agent for it is denatured alcohol. So, I can get silver powder off of E-bay, but I need some kind of a binder so the silver will stick to the objects when sprayed.I dont know if lacquer would work for that? It has to allow the silver particles to connect so the plating will flow. Any ideas on that? The expensive paint is very watery. Tom 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sonoran Dave 2,070 Posted July 30 Shellac thins with alcohol. It's the only one I can think of that does. A shellac base would dry fast too. You might have to do some experimenting Tom. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomH 2,732 Posted July 30 2 hours ago, Sonoran Dave said: Shellac thins with alcohol. It's the only one I can think of that does. A shellac base would dry fast too. You might have to do some experimenting Tom. The paint does dry incredibly fast.....we may be on to something here! Tom 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
