MY ELECTROFORMING MISSION - By Delia Delapp

I was researching online for enamel artists last year and discovered the work of the famous June Schwarcz. I was immediately intrigued by the beautiful organic quality of her work and decided that I needed to learn electroforming. I purchased a kit on the Internet, complete with a glass beaker and a 3-amp rectifier, and attempted to master this process at home. I was unsuccessful and abandoned the pursuit until I signed up for the electroforming workshop led by Shana Kroiz at the Enamel Conference in Tennessee. I was very eager to obtain the tried-and-true tricks and see a real tank in action. I have since built my own 20-gallon electroforming tank and have had amazing results that are akin to magic! A testament to the value of workshops and great teachers. 

In order to save money, I used a fish tank complete with the filter and air pump and then reinforced the interior seams with clear silicone. A 25-amp rectifier power source was purchased from eBay; the copper conductive paint from safersolutions.com; titanium hooks for the copper anode bars, and propylene bags from Technix.com; and white plastic 1-inch PVC pipe and corners, 1-inch copper pipe, brass fittings, and plastic screws for the titanium hooks from Home Depot.  I almost had a heart attack when I purchased the Midas copper electroforming solution and an extra bottle of brightener from Rio Grande. These materials cost approximately $1,000 to fill my 20-gallon tank. I attempted to find them cheaper, and in bigger bottles, but I couldn’t find a retailer. The only redeeming part about the investment is that if you run your fish tank filter in between electroplating, place your copper anode bars in propylene bags, continually fill the tank with distilled water when evaporation occurs, and occasionally add a few drops of brightener into the solution, your bath should last a lifetime.

PVC connection to the Air Hose

The most difficult part of putting the tank together was creating the air system inside it. Shana had suggested that there should be tiny air bubbles continually moving the solution to provide an even coating on the pieces. Home Depot sold the brass fittings that were used to step down from a 1-inch PVC pipe to ¼” plastic tubing. The drawing and photos provided with this article show the configuration of the air system with the needle-sized hole at the bottom center pipe. I glued the pipe and corner connectors together with PVC primer and ABS cement.

Soldered Tree with practice items

Shana began the electroforming process by coating her objects with clear satin lacquer – usually wax pieces so she can melt out the wax and enamel the form. She glued them with 2-part epoxy to a soldered copper wire tree structure. Following that, she painted copper conductive paint to the surface, making sure the glue connections were well coated. Shana then wrapped the end of the copper tree through a pre-drilled hole in the center copper pipe, making sure to center the pieces between the copper bar anodes. She connected the negative (black) connector to the bar holding the pieces and the positives (red) connectors to the copper bar anodes. To get a smooth copper coating thick enough for enameling, the rectifier should maintain a 3-amp current for approximately 3 days.

She turned the rectifier off when she pulled the pieces out to check the plating. If any piece had spots that weren’t coated, she sprayed water on it, lightly paper-toweled it off, and re-coated the spots. She let the piece dry and placed it back in the bath with the rectifier still off. It pickled the piece to eliminate any oxidation that might have occurred. If plating does not happen at all, it is likely due to bad connections. Shana made sure that the copper tubing was scrubbed with steel wool and all the glue connections were coated with conductive paint. If for any reason the solution needs to be discarded, she said to pour baking soda in it and wait until it stops bubbling. This will neutralize it. If the tank won’t be used for a while, she suggested taking the copper bars out, placing them in a bucket of water, and then scrubbing them with steel wool before placing them back in.

SHANA  & STUDENTS WORK

During the conference, the Enamel Society was auctioning off stunning electroformed bracelets created by June Schwarcz. I now own one and feel I have come full circle in my electroforming mission. Thank you, Shana!

                                  SHANA'S JEWELRY