Brush plating wands are used to apply electroplating by "brushing" a metal part with a wand, saturated in plating solution. The wand is attached to a power source. The electrical circuit created forces the metal from the solution and deposits it on the part.

Some other plating companies charge up to $50.00 for these so called "high-tech" devices. We are going to show you how to make them yourself in 60 seconds and for pennies.

We sell these wands pre-made for $5.00.

Materials Required for each wand

1. 12" - 24" of copper electrical wire.
2. 3" length of 1/4" diameter stainless steel, copper or brass pipe. (Copper pipe is required for copper plating, brass for brass plating, stainless for all others)
3. Electrical Tape
4. Small piece of cloth, such as an old t-shirt. 1" x 6" will suffice.
5. Elastic band

Making up the wand

1. With some wire strippers, strip about 1" from the end of the electrical wire.
2. Insert the wire, stripped end first into the pipe, until the end of the exposed wire reaches the end of the pipe.
3. With a hammer, flatten the last 1" of the pipe, so that it forms a flat surface and traps the exposed wire inside.
4. Wrap some electrical tape around the other end of the pipe and wire, so that the end of the pipe is sealed.
5. LOOSELY wrap the cloth around the flattened end of the pipe and secure it with the elastic band.

That's it. You have a low cost, easy to use brush plating wand.

Using The Wand

1. Attach the end of the wire to the positive side of your power supply.
2. Attach an alligator clip to one end of another piece of wire, and attach the non-clip end to the negative side of your power supply.
3. Clip the alligator clip to the part you want to plate.
4. Dip the cloth end of your wand into the brush plating solution. Ensure that the wand is saturated all the way through the cloth. Making sure the cloth is LOOSELY wrapped will usually suffice.
5. Stroke the wet cloth onto the part you want to plate.
6. When the wet cloth touches the part, an electrical circuit is formed. The current forces the metal out of the solution in the cloth and onto your part forming an electroplated layer.