Official Thread: Tink Electroforming Kits Q & A

[Wendyki]

I am working on getting a barbie ready to go and also buying enough solution to dunk her in after i enhance some parts and joints with sculpy hehe

[Wendyki]

Jerry you have to seal the leaf first before you paint it so the acid doesnt eat it up.

use a sealing type paint I have used spray shellac

[Imelt4U]

Wendy... do you think you could seal it with something like a white glue as well? It would keep it a little flexible?

I still haven't gotten my setup to work... but here's an image of the piece I did at my friends house. It got a bit chunky for my taste... but I learned a lot from do it.

[Sarabella]

Joanie, that's very nice!

Sals

[Wendyki]

I am by no means an expert but I think elmers glue is soluble and the acid may eat it I would ask Tink or John since without them I really wouldnt know a thing

[Imelt4U]

Yah... I don't know either. But I've used it to mask off areas when I etch a bead... I wondered if the electroforming solution was more corrosive.

[Imelt4U]

Well... I think I figured out my problem. I think I had the wrong solution. It says it's for copper plating... which I THOUGHT was what electroforming is. LOLOL!!! But the solution Wendy sent me actually SAYS electroforming on the bottle and has a different order number. Off to test it now!

[Sarabella]

Hi there EF-ers - I found this link to an interesting, short and concise experiment via video - in copperplating an ipod - www.epi.com. If you keep following links there are all sorts of interesting places you can end up. I really like the small, almost portable aspect to the experiment.

Sals

[jerrybeads]

Hi everyone, great info on this thread!

Here's my question~ how many of you leave your beads in the electroforming solution overnite or is it best to pull them out and soak them in distilled water?

Thanks to everyone for their information.

How about just starting a S&T thread of EF only?

Jeri

[CreditRiverArtGlass]

I'm switching to the water based conductive paint, do I need to replace my solution, too? Thanks.

[tajones1463]

I have a question. I have done several pieces and they turned out great. I have a hole bunch of stuff waiting to go next. However, I was babysitting my granddaughter yesterday so had to clean and put everything away.

This morning I set it all up again and I don't know what I'm doing wrong. When I plug in and turn on, the readout is not at zeros and when I turn up the current it flashes other numbers but then returns to zero.

Any idea what I've done wrong?

thanks for your help. I read through all the pages and I don't think I missed anything....but I did not see this situation/solution listed.

Teresa

[Tink]

Julie, I'm not sure. I've used the solvent-based paints before, but when I started using the water based paints I got new solution. I don't know if I needed to or not.

Teresa: Did you scrub all your copper? Do you have a good connection between your work and the hanging wire? Sounds like a pretty standard "bad spot in the circuit" issue, to me.

It doesn't take long for copper to begin to oxidize, and that includes the copper that you paint on your piece. Also, when hanging your work, it may look like you're getting a good contact point when you hold it up and look at it in the air, but once it's lowered into the solution, it will probably move around a bit. You need to make sure that connection is solid and good.

[CreditRiverArtGlass]

Thanks, Tink. I think I'm just going to order some new solution... better safe than sorry, right?

[karrina]

hi everyone. i'd really like to start a S&T thread~ anyone up for it??

Here's my before and after picture.

[slcuniques]

OOoo Beautiful Karrina!! Is that for the electroforming exchange? I hope so!!!

I'm up for a Show and tell.. Let us know where it will be..

[karrina]

YES! I mailed it to you today~ Yippeee!!
hope you like it in person...

I'm so excited about your exchange, thanks so much for doing this. Can't wait to see what I get.

Thanks so much for your comment. I'm always nervous about posting

[slcuniques]

aww, don't be, you're doing great work!!

[miniL]

Where do you have your set up? Is it safe to do it in the house or better some place like a garage?
I am concerned about vapors or any other health related issues...

Any thoughts?

[prairieson]

Originally Posted by miniL

Where do you have your set up? Is it safe to do it in the house or better some place like a garage?
I am concerned about vapors or any other health related issues...

Any thoughts?

The electorforming solution is copper sulfate dissolved in water with a small bit of acid to make the solution more conductive. The only safety concerns are:

1. It's best to wear nitrile or latex gloves when handling the solution. The acid is weak but why take chances?
2. Copper sulfate is a phenomenal herbicide, it used to be the primary ingredient in "Root Kill" type products. Copper compounds kill fish as well, so when it comes time, dispose of properly.

In copper electroforming, the only offgassing that occurs is hydrogen and oxygen, and only in miniscule amounts.

If you crank the current really high you can see bubbling occur... that's primarily hydrogen and a small amount of oxygen as a result of electrolosys of the water in the solution. Still not enough to be hazardous or explosive.

But if you see bubbles, your current is set way too high for good electroforming.

Nickel, silver, and gold electroforming can be another matter entirely. Often these solutions will offgas cyanide as a byproduct of the process. Best done with proper ventilation.

[miniL]

Thank you so much That is so so helpful ...

What would be the best way to "Dispose properly" ? ... I certainly don't want to kill anyone

Thank you

[prairieson]

Originally Posted by miniL

Thank you so much That is so so helpful ...

What would be the best way to "Dispose properly" ? ... I certainly don't want to kill anyone

Thank you

To be perfectly honest, I've never had to dispose of any. I filter it through a coffee filter when I'm through with it each time, when it starts to "weaken" I add a touch of brightener, and when I lose a little to evaporation I add a bit of distilled water. Still using the original batch after 3 or 4 years.

To deplete the solution for disposal, I'd swap out the copper anodes for stainless steel ones and electroplate a wad of steel wool until the solution is no longer blue. Then add a little sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to neutralize the acid. Then it should be ok to dump out.

[miniL]

That's great, I'll do that ... Don't want to throw away chemicals especially if it's unnecessary

Thank you for such a detailed explanation - so appreciate this !


Does the electroforming work on glass only ? or is it possible to use other materials like metal, plastic..... Is there anything that's prohibited to use or might ruin the equipment ?

Thank you so much for your help,

[spanky]

I'm Kinda new to this web sight. I have done some electro forming recently and would like to show them. Mike

[spanky]

This electroforming thred has been very helpful in my quest to electro form. The only thing is that it appears that there hasn't been as much activity. Mike

[miniL]

Nice pics, Mike.

The last one looks like a sea creature - very cool

[daytripper419]

Please Help. So I got an e-kit a year or so ago. I have just started to use it alot recently. Everything was going great until about four or five e-sessions ago. I am not getting things to be brite and shiny like I alway's have before. I do filter the blue stuff and have added quite a bit of brightner. I shine up the anodes with a dremel and have what has alway's worked amount of paint on. I have great build-up but am not getting the shine. The reason I want the shine is the patina's seem to work way better when the pieces come out super shiny. I get parts of the piece to be shiny and parts that just seem like they won't shine up. I have also been having to turn up the rectifier way higher than ever before to get the shine to come out in the little that it is. SO if anybody has any solutions please let me know. I am in the middle of trying to open a retail location and am stressed out as the last ten or so pieces look ugly not like the great look I had been achieving before. Thanks so much

[karrina]

Are you using distilled water??? All I do to wash the anoids to put them in distilled water and use a green scrub brush and the copper comes back to shiny, let dry and wrap up or use again. Perhaps you put too much brightener in, you just need a tiny drop and really don't even need to use it...

I'd email Janelle or Tink or whoever you got your kit from to try and de-bug your situation.

[Tink]

Here are a few things I passed on to this person in response to their PM. I thought I'd post them here too.

Make sure you have clean solution. Strain it through fresh cheesecloth to remove particulates.

Make sure your solution hasn't been contaminated by tap water. Always use distilled water when rinsing or cleaning anything that will be going into your solution.

Make sure your conductive paint has been well mixed, and that you're applying a thick enough layer to the item you want to electroform.

Make sure all your copper wires and your anodes are nice and clean, and that your anodes are replaced when they get too thin.

When all else fails, if you're getting a good deposit of copper, but it's simply not shiny (i.e. it's pink or dull) just scrub the heck out of it with a wire brush.

[cone12flat]

Read this whole thing last night, Thanks- josh

[Mitosis Glass]

Ooooo, I think I'd like to get this!