How To Copper Plate Metals

[bran1har]

just a tip. You're negative lead will corrode and your posative lead will be anodized if they are submerged in the water. keep the alligator leads out of the water, use a wire clipped to the leads.

[dataq0111]

@AHW214 Wrong and wrong. The coins and bills are property of the federal government, to destroy a penny is to destroy property of the federal government. And a length of wire with the same mass as a disk of copper will have a greater surface area. Do the math and if you come up with something different the you did it wrong.

[AHW214]

@dataq0111

If you don't think using a penny is appropriate I'm not going to argue, but for best results use copper sheet metal or foil instead of wire, and yes, I know if you bundle the wire or use a very long wire you could achieve a similar surface area.

[LittleC0dy]

@dataq0111 No, sorry you are wrong... U.S. Code Title 18, Chapter 17, Section 331 prohibits "the mutilation, diminution and falsification of United States coinage." The foregoing statute, however, does not prohibit the mutilation of coins, if the mutilated coins are not used fraudulently, i.e., with the intention of creating counterfeit coinage or profiting from the base metal.

[dataq0111]

DON'T USE PENNIES. Or any other "copper" coinage. 2 reasons: It's a federal crime to deface us currency. Also since like 1980 pennies have been made out of only like 5% copper and the rest is zinc and other stuff. Easiest and purest source of copper will be copper wire (the thick stuff for running house electrical) after the insulation is removed it may be necessary to sand a clear finish off (if present). Wind of several inches to increase surface area to increase reaction rate.

[AHW214]

@dataq0111

Responses:

1. Isn't it only illegal to deface currency (such as the penny) if you were to melt it down and sell the raw materials for more than the coins value?

2. Use pennies made before 1982, but still, copper wire will do. It's just that wire has less surface area than the penny, so if you were to use something other tan the penny use copper electrodes or copper foil/sheet metal.

[sadllebronc]

this system it is possible to take out rust of piece metal ? thaks again.

[AHW214]

@sadllebronc

I'm pretty sure you can remove rust with vinegar and salt or lemon juice but if you want to do it through electrolysis; youtube.com/watch?v=R5I5WBG5HP­w

[sadllebronc]

what happens if the two penny to touch or put your finger inside the glass , some risk of shock or short .. thanks .

[AHW214]

@sadllebronc

Definitely don't put your finger inside the glass while both electrodes are in and the power source is on, you will be electrocuted. If the two pennies touch it may produce a spark depending on the amperage/voltage.

[ew0054]

What voltage did you use?  I tried the experiment with red vinegar (all that was available) at 9V from a power supply and saw some toning after a few minutes.

[kenshinbattousai374]

Good chemistry! It's graet to see kids who're interested in learning stuff like this these days.

[UNITA4]

Is it possible to copper-plate a piece of copper, so that eventually you get this one big copper blob instead of two pieces of copper, instead of melting the copper and mixing them? Also, roughly how long would this take to remove all the copper from a penny (days? weeks?)? thanks

[UNITA4]

@UNITA4 nvm, I tried it and it works.

[DoktorKlawonn]

Don't put your clamps into the solution! The clamp (Iron) will be dissolved rather than copper. That's why the solution doesn't look like copper (blue, not green, green is iron) and the result is poor.

[ericjin100]

whats the voltage

[runnrunnrunn1234]

willl that work with steal or iron

[uxa1]

@runnrunnrunn1234 yes, it will work with steel and iron. The thing you want to plate must go to the negative sids (-) and the copper must go to the positive side (+) and try to keep the voltage down so the coating will come out more even, if the thing you want to plate bubble's alot then you need to down the voltage.

[oldpyro]

Great Video.  You should try this using a copper sulfate solution instead of vinegar. You will be pleased with the results.

[malakas930]

Can I ask what you use to make NICKEL I put water and salt and vinegar I had no I did everything you said in the video can advise me what to do and may I please explain to me what is vinegar I am from GREECE and I want to do NICKEL to please please please advised me

[AHW214]

@malakas930

Dont use salt water, it will produce chlorine gas.

[AHW214]

@malakas930

Only use vinegar (5% Acetic acid), no excess water or salt. To plate the metal with nickel connect nickel metal to the anode (positive electrode) while the metal that is going to be plated should be connected to the cathode (negative electrode). I don't recommend doing because it will produce Nickel (II) Acetate, a possible carcinogen . Once again, don't add salt because this will produce toxic chlorine gas.

[AlChemicalLife]

or gold or silver

[AlChemicalLife]

well at the bottom was platnium and i dont think pepole would want to plate platnium lol

[CrappedATriangle]

Could you use a platinum electrode to make copper acetate form in the solution without plating the negative?

[IMACRAZYDUDE1]

It just has to be a solution that is an electrolyte this is true for most salts dissolved in water or acids.

[ipwnr]

my quarter turned black :(

[AHW214]

@ipwnr

What was your power source rated at and how long did you plate the quarter?

[ipwnr]

@AHW214 atv battery it was 17amps and i did it for 20-25 minutes and it turned black then i left it there over night and one side was copper and other side crystallized with some black crystals and the vinager turned black also

[AHW214]

@ipwnr

I'd recommend trying again with a lower amperage power source (.5-1.5 amps) and giving it more time.

To many amps and I believe the copper is transferred to quickly and doesn't coat the quarter, but deposits as particles. Give it a few hours.

[ipwnr]

@AHW214 kk thx il try that

[wakwak350]

great vid

[rathat48]

That's ok, I don't think anyone wan't to copper plate any gold, silver, or platinum.

[aaron45765]

Will a base work like Sodium Hydroxide?

[stocktonvideos]

i recken if you put two pennys in, one on the anode and one on the cathode for 15 minutes you will get a nice blue acid ,, then do your plating , it works better

[juku1123]

you are the smartest boy in the world

[ericdalgetty]

thanks so much! i was trying to do this with tap water.. hehe..

[777Cocopuffs]

you are a very smart kid. i love doing projects like this and i have failed at this many times. thank you

[TheHomeScienctist]

do you have to use acitic acid [vinigar] aor can i just use water

[AHW214]

@TheHomeScienctist

I know that most acids work, water doesn't.

[Komanivysijc]

You can copper plate a silver coin. If you use electroplating.

[mewrox99]

Very nice well narrated video.

You have a lot of knowledge for someone so young

[AHW214]

@maintoc

I haven't heard about using vinegar either, until I saw a video where they did this. They left out some info like which electrode to attach the copper or metal to. They also didn't say what was happening. I wanted to describe whats happening in my video. I read that anodizing is when the metal you plate is connected to positive. Plating is when its connected to negative.

[maintoc]

@AHW214 Ok. Thanks for that info. I've seen blue anodized metal. If the metal is attached to positive D.C. polarity during that process, I wonder what what chemical or chemicals are in the solution that make that happen. Also, I've seen reverse electroplating done in archeology to clean old coins, etc. of corrosion.

[coolsciencetech]

You should hook up a multimeter to measure the current so you do not damage the wall adapter. Keep making more videos :)

[AHW214]

@coolsciencetech Thanks for the info. I have a multimeter it just doesn't work. Next time I'll use a battery.