An easy electroplating solution for silver on copper?

[Charlie+]

I need an easily brewed very small quantity of electroplating solution
for silver on copper without going to cyanide based commercial stuff
(this is only for a couple of lumped tuned circuits and I dont have
plated wire) and wondered if anyone had a homebrew recipe!?

I vaguely remember a solution made with film hypo being mentioned in
the distant past in a magazine, anyone up on this or similar? TIA
Charlie+

 

[Dave Platt]

In article <pnval0hvblo7b23h0p3044pr581g5opm1j@4ax.com>,
Charlie+ <chasg> wrote:

I need an easily brewed very small quantity of electroplating solution
for silver on copper without going to cyanide based commercial stuff
(this is only for a couple of lumped tuned circuits and I dont have
plated wire) and wondered if anyone had a homebrew recipe!?

Check out www.caswellplating.com - they have some small plating kits
which are cyanide-free and easy to use. You can buy one of their
little "Plug&Plate" kits, or just buy a bottle of the plating solution
and use your own power supply and an improvised plating wand (or a
homemade dunk tank).

I did the latter, to re-silverplate a damaged roller inductor in an
antenna tuner I bought a couple of years ago. It worked like a charm.

I don't know the details of their solution's chemistry, but I suspect
that you might be able to extend its lifetime significantly in a
tank-plating system by using a pure-silver electrode (silver wire from
a local jeweler?) to replenish the silver ion content as the silver is
plated out on the base metal.

--
Dave Platt <dplatt@radagast.org> AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

 

[Charlie+]

On Sat, 25 Sep 2004 17:21:22 -0000, dplatt@radagast.org (Dave Platt)
wrote as underneath my scribble :

Thanks Dave for the pointer - might be the way to go if nobody has a
home brew, not too expensive either!
Charlie+

Check out www.caswellplating.com - they have some small plating kits
which are cyanide-free and easy to use. You can buy one of their
little "Plug&Plate" kits, or just buy a bottle of the plating solution
and use your own power supply and an improvised plating wand (or a
homemade dunk tank).

I did the latter, to re-silverplate a damaged roller inductor in an
antenna tuner I bought a couple of years ago. It worked like a charm.

I don't know the details of their solution's chemistry, but I suspect
that you might be able to extend its lifetime significantly in a
tank-plating system by using a pure-silver electrode (silver wire from
a local jeweler?) to replenish the silver ion content as the silver is
plated out on the base metal.