Metal plating on plastic

[hashashan]

Anybody has an idea how this process is done? i mean in home conditions.

i thought of something that might (probably not) but might work. dipping the plastic in copper sulfate and then contacting it with a more active metal thus reducing the copper sulfate to copper. but what if the plastic is very curvy ?

[Rogue Chemist]

Fine metal particles 'sandblasted' into the plastic followed by plating. Most of the time it is easier to get plastic onto the desired metal.

 

I have some copper powder which when I rub it into my fingerprints, causes my thumb to be conductive.

[Boomer]

Or metal sprayed (spattered) on.

Or depositing metal vapour in a vacuum chamber.

Or depositing carbon the same way.

Or spraying with carbon (graphit) spray from a can, then electroplating.

 

The last is the route to go for the home experimenter. There's also a copper spray for electomagnetic shielding, but it's more expensive, and leaves a rough surface (read lots of electro-copper needed for later polishing).

[hashashan]

i need a very fine plating therefore those methods arent good for me.

any chemical methods known?

any metal salts are conductive?(sorry for my ignorance, dont flame me )

[Rogue Chemist]

I have used devices to sputter coat under vaccuum very fine layers of gold on plastic. It is conductive, and thin enough to be transparent under an electron microscope.

[Pont]

How would gold leaf go? Might get expensive if your doing a large area and its very fiddely stuff?

[markx]

There's also a special conductive silver paint that can be sprayed or applied with a brush to create a conductive surface onto plastic. Might be a little less expensive compared to gold leaf

I worked with electroplating techniques alot during my bachelor years in the university. We tried to electroplate very thick layers of copper and nickel onto extremely curved surfaces to create casting molds for the plastic industry. Also worked on pulse plating of metals and hard alloys (W-Ni-Fe etc.)

[dutch]

If your interested in plating on plastic, or other non- conductive material, go to this site:

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/index.html

There, scroll down the list to,"Plating on No-conductive surfaces" There are two spay products you simply spray on you target material and then eather nickel, or copper plate first then replate with your finish metal of choice.

[hashashan]

Its nice and all but anyone knows what is it made of?

id like to synthesize such pain at home