Copper plating

[Avery Arms]

Has anyone here ever tried to copper plate a bullet?

Can it be done using a simple electroplating setup without dangerous cyanide baths?

What about coating lead with tin, nickel or zinc? Nickel plated buckshot is available commercially so there must be a way...


PP

[1874Sharps]

PP,

I tried this about 15 years ago without too much success. I took the DC power supply out of a broken tape recorder and regulated the voltage output with a variable resistor. I used a copper sulfate solution with a copper sheet metal anode. That is how to do it in theory, but there is much on the technical side as well. I had a hard time getting a good plate that would adhere to the lead bullet, as well as getting an even thickness all around. I messed with it and could not get it to work very well, but some of the more successful attempts made bullets that shot OK. If I remember right, years and years ago I saw a machine on the market that did this electroplating of bullets.

[ilcop22]

If you shoot .223, there is a method of applying a jacket using spent .22lr cases. I'm sure its been posted around here somewhere...

[Shiloh]

I have attempted to plate lead several times in the past. This was for costume jewelry repairs I would take in as a courtesy for better customers who were regulars with fine jewelry.

Lead and lead solder won't plate unless there is some other process done first. Lead seems to be impervious to commercial copper plating solutions. My rationale was to copper plate first, to give a cyanide gold plating solution a base to adhere to. An absolute failure.

I did get a sample of copper plated commercial from the now defunct National Bullet Company.

These bullets had a copper wash that would scratch off with your fingernail. Worthless, but yu paid a premium for them. Ranier and Berry's does a good job of heavy plated copper bullets. If this was an easy process you would see a lot more of them.

Shiloh

Shiloh