I would like to plate shakudo (4%-6% gold in copper) onto a copper subtrate for subsequent patination. Shakudo takes on a dark black/purple hue when properly patinated.
Can a standard copper plating system & solution be used with a shakudo anode, or will the copper selectively plate out leaving the gold ... or vice versa?
If necessary, can a copper plating / gold plating solution be combined?
I've stuck out on getting an answer to this anywhere ... hoping someone here has the smarts. Thanks Dan
Doesn't work that way. In a plating solution the metal getting plated out is already in solution. The anode just replenishes it.
Even if you used a cyanide bath (which will allow the gold to go into solution) and ran it with a shakudo anode until the original copper was completely depleted, the plated alloy would be a crapshoot.
Alloy plating baths are fairly complex mixtures due the different throwing power of each of the metals in the mix, as well as the chemistry of each of the salts keeping the metals in solution.
While it is possible to have a solution formulated it would simpler to make the piece out of shakudo to begin with.
Paul K, Dickman
I think you may be out of luck with electroplating, but that you may have an option in using a process like was used to make rolled gold plate.
In that, relatively thick billets of material were fused, then rolled to appropriate thickness. It was commonly used for pocket watch cases.
Cheers Trevor Jones
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