The authoritative public forum
  for Metal Finishing 1989-2025
  

  -----

Hobbyist Copper Plating on 3D Plastics: Help Fine-Tuning It

Q. Hey guys. I'm new to electroplating, and I'm working at the hobbyist level. I plan on using electroplating to coat 3d prints with copper (and later on, nickel) to build a personalized, wearable 3d printed replica of the mkII iron man suit from the mcu. However, I am just at the beginning of my electroplating journey, and need advice to get to that end goal. I just recently got my first mostly successful copper plate on a 3d death whistle, which I just thought would be a cool thing to test the plating process with. It went well, but left several questions and areas to improve, which is what I came here seeking advice about, addressed below.

Before I ask questions, here's some info about my setup:

I am using a copper sulfate solution of 0.9 gal distilled water, 28.8 oz copper sulfate, 28.8 ml sulfuric acid, and about 10 ml of midas brightener.

I prepare my 3d printed parts to plate by coating them in graphite paint until resistance is less than 5 kilo ohms, polish the coating, and then clean the surface in a water/degreaser solution, before drying with paper towel.

For reference, these are the anodes I am using.

That said, I have a few questions regarding the fine tuning of the process.

-How do I increase adhesion of the copper plating to the part? the plating on the death whistle wasn't readily peeling off but still scratches off with moderate effort and totally got destroyed when I later tried to burnish in a tumbler with steel shot tumbling media.

-Does anyone know where I can find good quality phosphorus doped copper anodes? Ive read online that these are the anodes you want to use when plating as opposed to fully pure copper because they are better at producing copper ions and reducing waste anode sludge. The amazon link previously shared is of the anodes I am using now; I was also wondering if there is any way to tell if the anodes I have are of sufficient quality or are phosphorus doped.

-Lastly, how can I burnish parts after plating without destroying them? I've seen the steel shot tumbling method done by others with success. In fact, my death whistle even came out shinier in the areas the plating wasn't torn off. How can I prevent this destruction in the future?
Any advice is much appreciated.
Thank you!

Joe Mirville
hobbyist - Tampa, Florida
January 5, 2025