Little Blue Laboratory

DIY copper electroplating circuit: a jar of blue copper sulfate solution wired to an 18650 battery with alligator clips

It all starts with a battery The skull has been treated with a conductive paint and submerged in a bath of copper sulfate. The battery was then connected to the skull and a bare copper wire as a sacrificial anode.

3D-printed skull held by an alligator clip over a container of bright blue plating solution as copper begins to deposit

You can see the copper beginning to deposit! The copper from the solution is being attracted to the conductive paint on the skull. The current flows from the wire and through the liquid and into the skull carrying some of the copper along with it.

Cross-section of the copper-plated skull showing a granular metal surface with bluish-green patina in the eye sockets

Copper depositing (mostly) complete! I decided that this was good enough. I was reaching a point of diminishing returns. There was less copper being deposited each time I rotated and waited.

Two copper wire segments joined by solder beads on a gridded cutting mat, showing copper leached from the wire

Just look at how much copper was leeched off of this wire! Bottom is the original spool that the copper wire came from. On top is the wire that was left in the solution. You can see just how much copper was leeched out of the wire and back into the solution.

Finished copper-plated skull on a polished stained wooden base under dramatic raking light

Finished and mounted. I polished it up and mounted it on a custom made stained wooden frame. It wasn't perfect, but Adam Savage taught me that imperfections add character and a story.

Copper-plated skull with a sparkling granular surface and horn-like protrusions on an amber wooden base

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Copper skull with long horn-like projections propped on a polished amber wooden slab

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Top-down studio photo of the copper skull mounted on a flat wooden plaque

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Copper skull with tendril-like projections on a glossy honey-amber wooden plaque

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Top-down close-up of a silvery sintered-metal fragment with a porous beaded texture and bluish-green patina on an amber wooden paddle-shaped base

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No time for math, only time for iteration. -Leadneck