Just a cool little trick I figured out a while back. Can you see something strange about this photo?
I electroplated the penny with zinc and the nickel with copper so that the colors are switched.
I'll only outline how to do the copper electroplating right now, but if someone if curious how to do the zinc I can explain that as well.
OBLIGATORY SAFETY WARNING: While this is a fairly safe experiment, you should use common sense, and wash you hands well after you are done.
Materials needed:
A few small pieces of scrap copper
A power source with alligator clips attached (I used an old 3.7V 1000Mah phone charger)
Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)
A large jar made of something other than metal
Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol)
Metal polish (optional)
Some water
Instructions:
Fill your jar most of the way with water, and add a fair amount of baking soda. This will act as the electrolyte and make the solution more conductive. (Do NOT use table salt as the electrolyte as it will produce chlorine gas) You want to add enough baking soda that the water is completely saturated and there is about half an inch of undissolved baking soda at the bottom of the jar.
Then attach the alligator clip from your power source to the pieces of copper and dip them into the solution. (don't put in in so far that the alligator clips are under the surface, especially the positive one) Once they are in, you should see tiny bubbles of hydrogen gas being liberated from the solution. This is not really enough hydrogen to be a fire hazard, but it's not a bad idea to have a small fan running to blow it away. Leave this electrolytic cell running for a few hours, or however long it takes for the solution to turn a nice blue color.
At this point, your electrolytic cell is complete and ready for use.
To prepare your piece of metal for electroplating you will need to remove any and all oils and grease from it. This is what you use your rubbing alcohol for. After this step you must be careful to only handle the piece with gloves on or with clean tweezers.
Next, attach the negative alligator clip to the piece of metal, and the positive one to a piece of copper. It is extremely important that you have them hooked up correctly.
Once they are attached, submerge both into the solution, and plug in the power source, After about a minute, remove the item being plated from the solution and move the alligator clip to a different place on the piece of metal. If you don't do this, you will end up with a funny looking spot where the clip was. Put it back into the solution, and wait another minute or so. Take it out of the solution and inspect it. If you see any spots that aren't coated, put it back in. If you are happy with the look, it's done!
Now you can polish it until shiny, but don't over-polish as the copper coating is very thin and you could wear through it completely.
You can use this plating solution as many times as you like. If you ever do decide to get rid of your solution, do NOT pour it down the drain, as this could cause serious damage to your local water treatment plant.
Have fun and be safe!
I electroplated the penny with zinc and the nickel with copper so that the colors are switched.
I'll only outline how to do the copper electroplating right now, but if someone if curious how to do the zinc I can explain that as well.
OBLIGATORY SAFETY WARNING: While this is a fairly safe experiment, you should use common sense, and wash you hands well after you are done.
Materials needed:
A few small pieces of scrap copper
A power source with alligator clips attached (I used an old 3.7V 1000Mah phone charger)
Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)
A large jar made of something other than metal
Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol)
Metal polish (optional)
Some water
Instructions:
Fill your jar most of the way with water, and add a fair amount of baking soda. This will act as the electrolyte and make the solution more conductive. (Do NOT use table salt as the electrolyte as it will produce chlorine gas) You want to add enough baking soda that the water is completely saturated and there is about half an inch of undissolved baking soda at the bottom of the jar.
Then attach the alligator clip from your power source to the pieces of copper and dip them into the solution. (don't put in in so far that the alligator clips are under the surface, especially the positive one) Once they are in, you should see tiny bubbles of hydrogen gas being liberated from the solution. This is not really enough hydrogen to be a fire hazard, but it's not a bad idea to have a small fan running to blow it away. Leave this electrolytic cell running for a few hours, or however long it takes for the solution to turn a nice blue color.
At this point, your electrolytic cell is complete and ready for use.
To prepare your piece of metal for electroplating you will need to remove any and all oils and grease from it. This is what you use your rubbing alcohol for. After this step you must be careful to only handle the piece with gloves on or with clean tweezers.
Next, attach the negative alligator clip to the piece of metal, and the positive one to a piece of copper. It is extremely important that you have them hooked up correctly.
Once they are attached, submerge both into the solution, and plug in the power source, After about a minute, remove the item being plated from the solution and move the alligator clip to a different place on the piece of metal. If you don't do this, you will end up with a funny looking spot where the clip was. Put it back into the solution, and wait another minute or so. Take it out of the solution and inspect it. If you see any spots that aren't coated, put it back in. If you are happy with the look, it's done!
Now you can polish it until shiny, but don't over-polish as the copper coating is very thin and you could wear through it completely.
You can use this plating solution as many times as you like. If you ever do decide to get rid of your solution, do NOT pour it down the drain, as this could cause serious damage to your local water treatment plant.
Have fun and be safe!