How to metalise wood

[purplemer]

hi there
I was wanting to metalise peices of wood, with perhaps copper or silver. or any other metal
Can anybody tell me how to go about doing this and what the easiest method would be, with minimal apparatus.

thank you very much

kenneth

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by purplemer

hi there
I was wanting to metalise peices of wood, with perhaps copper or silver. or any other metal
Can anybody tell me how to go about doing this and what the easiest method would be, with minimal apparatus.

thank you very much

kenneth

possibly electrolysis. a tub of salt water big enough to hold the wood, three, 9volt batteries wired in series (27 volts), and silver or copper for your sacrificial anode. drill a hole in the wood and put an insulated wire with a stripped end into the hole and glue or caulk the hole closed. place the wood in the tub (weight it down if you want all sides plated), connect the wire from the wood to the -(negative) pole of the batteries, connect the + (positive) pole to a wire with your sacrifical metal attached and insert in the water. Set back & wait. Bubbling will tell you electrolysis is underway.

Let me know how it works out. .....

[purplemer]

thank you for your reply
If the wire was completly insulated would electrolise stil work, I thought you needed a current flowing through the liquid.
I heard that you can coat wood in silver nitrate to attract silver onto it. I dont actualy want to use silver nitrate its nasty stuff to make.
I was kind of hoping that it would be possible to lighty coat the wood in a thin layer of something first. I really wanted to get an even coating all round and subtle enough to show the grain in the wood.
best wishes
ken

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by purplemer

thank you for your reply
If the wire was completly insulated would electrolise stil work, I thought you needed a current flowing through the liquid.
I heard that you can coat wood in silver nitrate to attract silver onto it. I dont actualy want to use silver nitrate its nasty stuff to make.
I was kind of hoping that it would be possible to lighty coat the wood in a thin layer of something first. I really wanted to get an even coating all round and subtle enough to show the grain in the wood.
best wishes
ken

The negative wire should be insulated against the electrolyte except for its terminal end inside the hole in the wood. Otherwise the plating will deposit on the wire and not the wood. You might want to put salt in that hole, then the bare wire, then seal it. The wood may have to soak a while, and green wood is probably going to work better.

Maybe try impregnating the wood piece with graphite?

I have never tried plating wood, so I'm just speculating. Good luck.

[modest]

Originally Posted by purplemer

I heard that you can coat wood in silver nitrate to attract silver onto it. I dont actualy want to use silver nitrate its nasty stuff to make.

Easier than making the silver nitrate would be buying a 2 part silvering solution. I've seen it used on plastic and the result was smooth and detailed. I don't see why it wouldn't work on wood, but you could look into it.

-modest