Anyone else copper plating?

[#40Fan]

WELL? . . . Well...well well..? How thick was the plating this time?

I went a little less this time. .005" total. Wanted to see if that made it easier to size, it didn't really, and if the reduced amount had any effect on grouping. Will find out tomorrow.

[OS OK]

I think your onto something...hanging on by my toenails awaiting the next report!

[fcvan]

I tried plating about 6 years ago, same basic process but hanging the boolits as opposed to tumbling. I definitely found that 1.5v at 300ma worked best for me. I was plating Lyman 225-415 boolits with copper wire in the plastic tank, and a copper wire suspended over the tank. Oddly, the best results I achieved were from using a small solar panel connected to a cigarette lighter type of voltage controller with great coverage within 3 hours. Talk about going 'green.' The plated boolits shot ok, but not as good as ESPC or tumble PC. My most recen't loads are currently getting 1.5" @ 100yds at 2350fps. That is with a non lube groove NOE 62-RN-PB. I'm retired again so I may have to revisit the barrel elctroplating project.

[#40Fan]

Very interesting stuff! For heat have you considered a cheap aquarium heater? One that clips on the edge of the tank will just have glass in your solution. Removing the thermostat so it’s always on should be pretty easy.

Missed your post earlier. That might be a viable option. I see they are decently cheap at Wal-Mart.

[#40Fan]

I tried plating about 6 years ago, same basic process but hanging the boolits as opposed to tumbling. I definitely found that 1.5v at 300ma worked best for me. I was plating Lyman 225-415 boolits with copper wire in the plastic tank, and a copper wire suspended over the tank. Oddly, the best results I achieved were from using a small solar panel connected to a cigarette lighter type of voltage controller with great coverage within 3 hours. Talk about going 'green.' The plated boolits shot ok, but not as good as ESPC or tumble PC. My most recen't loads are currently getting 1.5" @ 100yds at 2350fps. That is with a non lube groove NOE 62-RN-PB. I'm retired again so I may have to revisit the barrel elctroplating project.

How thick of a coating were you putting on? My PC'd bullets are shooting like ****, at least the NOE mold I have out of my 300 BLK. The Lee 230 isn't horrible, but I think it could be better. Only reason I am giving this plating a try is see if the NOE can shoot better and after Wednesday's test, they are. Not great, but better. Another member, Mustang, is sending me some GC bullets to try. They might just be the key behind these horrible groups I am getting. I also have my .308 to try them in as well. I'll hit the range again tomorrow for some results.

[#40Fan]

Aquarium heater was a no-go. Just not enough juice to heat the water up. I tried with 1/2 gallon of tap water at 60° in a small bowl with the heater completely submerged. Took way too long to get to 70°.

Working on another idea with a used coffee pot. So far it has heated a gallon of water from 62° to 90° in 7 minutes.

120° in 16 minutes. I think this will work!!

[lefty o]

https://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Instan.../dp/B01M0Q84BR how baout one of these coffee cup heaters. i have zero idea if it would work, but who knows .

[#40Fan]

I started heating the water at 4:42. Took 23 minutes to hit 140°. This was only with a gallon and it will probably take another 1/2-3/4 to submerge the bottom of my bullet bowl.



I disassembled the coffee pot and connected my circulating pump to the heating element in the bottom of the pot and ran the hoses out the back. The clear return line I ran through the lid of the Rubbermaid ice chest that I am using.



Picture of the innards.

[#40Fan]

This is how I mounted the rotisserie motor with the brackets provided in the kit that you can get from Lowes for $27.



The other end that supports the bowl.



Close up of how I used the prongs to poke through and hold the bowl. For this setup, I took some straws and cut them down and hot glued to the bowl. Gives the bullets something to catch and help agitate them a little. Bowl is from Christmas when someone gave us some Chex Mix. I also cut the center out of the lid to keep the bullets from falling out of the bowl if doing a larger batch.



I did have to trim down the rod an inch or so. And other than some sealant and deck screws, I used what parts were in the kit to mount the spinning bowl. Everything can be removed from the cooler without removing any screws. I'll give this setup a test tomorrow or Sunday.

[lefty o]

will be neat to see the results. may take some attempts to find the right temp for your chemistry. imo anything north of 120 will probably be good.

[#40Fan]

It is official, my 300 BLK does not like cast bullets. Even tried a 312-160 Lee mold and it just won't tighten up a group. My .308 on the other hand with the NOE PC'd bullets put two in the same hole and a third touching...of course just from 50 yards that I have been shooting the 300 at. Maybe some GC bullets will do better in the 300 BLK. Now I am going to have to plate a few for the .308 and see how it shoots them.

[edwin41]

Years ago i tried some copperplating, and one of the first things i noticed was that one had to put the pieces in the solution with the current On.
When the pieces are put in the solution without the current on, these pieces pick up a copperwash that Will not stick to the material
So the further build up is easy to scrape off.

[edwin41]

Further more, the rough finish as seen in the pictures suggest that the transfer of the copperparticles is way to fast, So one could try to lower the amp's delivered by the powersource, the voltage isnt an issue here.
It would always be neccessary to calculate the size to be plated in square inch and regulate the amp's according.
With this setting correct the projectiles should Come out smooth and shiny.

[edwin41]

It would always be tricky to get a good adhesion of the copperparticles to the lead
And It is suggested to do a " nickel-strike" prior to the final plating.
Hmmm... Getting interested in this proces again, and i do have a powersource that is factory build for this proces

[#40Fan]

Edwin41, thanks for the comments. I would really like to see someone else attempt this and to help with the process so that I am not just wasting my time. I feel I have made quite a bit of progress from the first attempt to where I am now, but no where close to a good plating process. My first couple of attempts I did have issues where the plating was easy to scrape off with my nail, but now it impossible. I am getting a complete coat that seems very durable. I posted some pictures of bullest that went from a boat tail to flat base while trying to size them and the plating stayed put. But, sticking to a bullet and being reliable to shoot down a barrel are two different things and the later is what I am after.

I didn't get the opportunity to do anything today, so tomorrow I'll be at it again.

[#40Fan]

Not much happened today that hasn't happened before. Having the bath in the Rubbermaid ice chest made controlling the temps super easy. Plated like before.

I figured I'd experiment on the polishing process tonight. Started out with the plated bullets in my HF rock tumbler, like usual, but without the steel pins. I used a dishwasher soap pack this time. Came out looking nice. I had a jug of Oxy Clean sitting there, so after rinsing off the dishwasher pack soap, I threw the bullets back in with the Oxy. Made them worse. I then grabbed a piece of steel wool and rubbed it over a bullet. Decided to cut the steel wool ball up into little pieces and throw the bullets back in the tumbler with them. See what happens in a couple of hours.

[#40Fan]

(40) 285-130 bullets have been cast and thrown in the plating bath. They came out of the mold at .287 and 128 grains. I'll see how long it takes to get a .023" or maybe a little more of a plating on them.

I now have an STC-1000 controlling the coffee pot to regulate the temperature of the bath. No more baby sitting required.

(not actual temp being used)

[#40Fan]

Previous tests had a .007" plating after 3 1/2 hours with a 3V 3A power supply. I am now using a variable power supply and started out with a 1A setting. The bullets looked smooth and clean. I didn't preclean with anything after casting and no liver spots appeared. After a four hour run, I checked the size of a bullet and only had a .002" plating. Ramped up the amps to 1.5A and when I checked after they have been in there now for 11 hours or so, I have a .009" plating. Up the amps again to 3A and I'll let it rip through the night.

They are still looking very nice and smooth. All of the grooves are still well defined and sharp. Lots of reading online says that it is hard to get the tight angles to fill in properly, but I think I am doing alright. Adding the coffee pot and temp controller is really making this a hands off operation.

See what tomorrow brings.

[lefty o]

i think your doing just fine getting .002" in 4hrs.

[jdfoxinc]

Could you "unplate" fired bullets by reversing polarity? Have the jacket material deposit onto a copper strip? Then use that material to plate New cast?