electroplating copper to steel?

[strong eagle]

anybody done it at home? how were the result? any info,if you please.

 

[Marty1]

:scratch: "any info"?...  I have no experience in do-it-yourself copper plating, but I’d likely tinker with electroplating using Copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate rather than using any commercially available wipe-on chemical.   There seems to be several videos on the internet on how to electroplate copper to steel.  
:Questuon: ...  I’d experiment first with whatever method you use before trying it on a final object.  Be sure to always use gloves and eye goggles when handling and mixing chemicals in a ventilated area.  

Interesting subject matter 'eagle.

 

[strong eagle]

ive done a lot of research and im going to try the root away pure water mixture. use a small 9 volt battery and hook the positive to the copper piece and the neg. to the polished steel. keep the steel piece moving and see what happens.it cant be rocket science. if it works out well on a test piece im going to copper plate the part of a revolver that the cylinder goes into minus the barrel and the grip and trigger guard. may leave it that way or try to silver plate over the copper plate. i know how to rust blue but always am looking for something different. saw a high end harley once that was copper plated, must have cost a bundle. it was beautiful. a copper plated gun on the frame may be also if done right. would not care if it lost its shine as long as it was smooth and scratch free. i wonder how they copper plate lead bullets if lead doesnt transmit electrical current? anyone know?

 

[Marty1]

'eagle, if you are referring to the commercial "root away", that product I believe is listed as Cupric sulfate pentahydrate...same as Copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate.   Although Lead(Pb) is very near the list bottom of metals that have conductive properties(about 1/12th that of copper), it still has conductive properties.  More sophisticated plating methods are required for lead.

Good luck and let us know how your project works out.

 

[strong eagle]

will do.