Science Committee now has Silver Plating Solution as well as Nickel and Copper.
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@John_Marlow The nickel solution and annode, along with the power supply is in the corner of the science shop (Lab?). Josh said he used 400 milliamps if I recall. Notes are on the Committee drive.
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Part cleaning is the most important part of the plating process to ensure good results. What do we have available to do that? Do we have either an electrocleaning solution, or a suitable degreasing dip?
nope
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Isopropyl alcohol (we have) or acetone (don’t k ow if we have)?
Does Science have an ultrasonic cleaner? That is a suitable first step.
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vector and science both have, theirs is easier to use.
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First step is just cleaning: TSP is, even dish soap as a basic degreaser.
Usually then either an alkaline wash or more commonly an acid etch to remove surface oxides, 5% White vinegar is good or a weak solution on Acetic acid (which what’s in Vinegar). Using the ultra sonic cleaner might do a better job, but it is the solution that’ll be doing the real work.
These above gets you away from a lot of the toxic stuff. But if more aggressive then you still need to do a degreasing, then use other things and based on the metal: HCL, S2SO4, HNO3 as the etch.
If doing Aluminum, there’s another step called “Zincating” which you have to do before plating. You can acid etch aluminum to get rid of the oxide coating, but it instantly reoxidizes with a thin film before you can get it into the plating solution: aluminum oxide is a decent insulator and the prevents plating from bonding. This is for plating not anodizing of which there are several types and slightly different process.
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Looks like Science found its newest expert teacher!
All good. The focus is different, practical verses less theoretical (but not that much, you still have to understand what’s going on.) I won’t be doing how to do plastic, the silvering class was interesting - probably more applicable to Glassworks projects than Machine Shop.
You could teach the silver plating in Machine Shop!!
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Hi, I’ve appreciated the initiative you’ve taken in the past on here at the Makerspace and wondered if you can help me now.
I have some silver that I want to purify. It’s presently in a silver trap cemented to stainless steel. I felt the electrolytic process to be interesting process potentially ending up with very pure silver. I was following a set up on YouTube where a stainless steel pot acting as a cathode has a plastic Tupperware basket hanging thru a hole cut into a cutting board as the anode basket.
I have trickle trap from my past that has been filled with used photographic fixer solution with steel wool, I read it works ny a process called.cementation. The solution is currently dark. It’s been around a long time. I understand I should be able to shake or physically dislodge silver from the steel wool. Rinse it thoroughly. Save the solution for further use. Possibly as an electrolyte. If possible I want to obtain the silver since silver prices are crazy
My current problem revolves around the electrolyte solution. Silver chloride being my first choice. But it needs nitric acid 70% to dissolve the silver. My problem is obtaining the nitric acid. I’ve read some supply companies will shipped to a Makerspace. But most only want to ship to industry, education, research etc. Not individuals.
I was wondering I can have nitric acid shipped to the Makerspace? Or,if you had any suggestions on how to obtain nitric acid,
I am aware the chemical fume hood does not work at the Makerspace so I can’t rely on that.
A lesser Expensive way of doing things involve sodium theosulfate as an electrolyte or possible use the reaiming soution in the trap as electrolyte. But that will require a lot more time.
Any help or suggestion you provide for this process would be greatly appreciated.
PS
I have a some chemistry background, taking up to organic chemistry college. And then biochemistry in medical school so I am familiar with safety concerns.
Thanks in advance
Brian
Sorry not stainless steel it should read as steel wool
Brian
The Science guys will know more about this process.
However, I do know (because I read everything) that we can receive some of the more hazardous chemicals. It make take a bit of effort, but we’ve done it in the past, and might even already be buying from those companies.
Just so you know, while you’ll probably have fun doing this, coin shops aren’t buying anything that isn’t a pure sovereign coin or bullion. Like they aren’t buying “junk” silver like 40 or 90% coins, sterling flatware or jewelry. The refiners are so backlogged that they aren’t buying anything right now.
Crazy times!
I’ve helped with setting up all those things. Our fume hood works and we have accounts with Fisher, Sigma, and VWR. Ordering has to be done through the committee. A prerequisite is taking the lab safety class (I typically try to offer it once ever 1-2 months) and we cover in the class how to get orders approved. You would need to cover the costs of the chemicals unless its for a committee Science Sunday event.
We don’t typically hand out the combination to the chemical cabinets but generally someone can be there to help you access the chemicals when needed.
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Another problem I’ve been reading about is these coin dealers don’t have cash. The refiners aren’t paying them quickly enough for them to buy more silver. A lot of them are gonna be going under if this continues. It’s almost like a modern day silver or gold rush.if we researched the gold rush they probably had several similar problems. They say the only way to overcome this right now is to sell person to person or small batches on the Internet as Retail. I can only imagine that people selling at a discount in order to get business.
Thank you for all those insights. I’ll look for the safety course.
Still not sure of the electrolyte of choice for small batches.
Thanks again.