How I Make My Own Bright Electroforming Solution for Copper Jewelry
Electroforming is one of those techniques that feels like science and art combined, and making your own solution gives you full control over the quality of your results. In this project, I’ll walk you through how I mix my go-to acid copper bath at home. It’s the same solution I use for jewelry, organic forms, and anything I want to coat in a smooth, shiny layer of copper.
Why Make Your Own Solution?
Store-bought electroforming baths can be expensive, and you don’t always know what’s in them. By making your own, you can fine-tune the balance of copper, acid, and additives to match your work. It’s surprisingly easy to do with a few basic supplies and some patience.
What You’ll Need
To make 1 liter of the solution, I used:
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180g Copper Sulfate https://amzn.to/3FCOLeE | https://ebay.to/43BtAlg
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34g Sulfuric Acid (of dry solute) https://amzn.to/4kMv0jP | https://ebay.to/4mXlOez
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Distilled water https://amzn.to/4jwXkpx | https://ebay.to/3Hdmvjs
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The Brightener System A + B and the Make Up
Tools:
Glass beaker https://amzn.to/4keEMva | https://ebay.to/4dQiEoI
- Plastic container https://amzn.to/3Hi8EZ7 | https://ebay.to/3HhtZ4M
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Digital scale https://amzn.to/4kKCqEm | https://ebay.to/43mJ6Tf
Stirring rod https://amzn.to/4mEDFXp | https://ebay.to/453d3ZQ
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Hotplate stirrer https://amzn.to/3HjKHRe | https://ebay.to/3HAkuxC
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Coffee filters https://amzn.to/43G0HV5 | https://ebay.to/4kmnIUc
- Felt cloth https://amzn.to/4jo1NdT | https://ebay.to/3HxqdUW
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Eye protection https://amzn.to/4mEDQlx | https://ebay.to/4mMSBTt
The Process
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Dissolve the Copper Sulfate
I started by warming distilled water and adding 180g of copper sulfate. You can do this at room temperature, but warming it helps speed things up. I used a hotplate stirrer, but stirring by hand works too. Once fully dissolved, I filtered the solution using coffee filters and a piece of felt cloth to remove impurities.
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Add Sulfuric Acid
Next, I carefully added 34g (solute) of sulfuric acid. This helps with conductivity and improves how evenly the copper plates across the surface. I'm using a 50% concentration, so the quantity I added is 48ml. If you're using a different concentration of acid, you need to adjust the amount. For the common 37% concentration, you need to add 70ml of sulfuric acid. For different concentrations you might find, I've got a calculator on my website to help with the conversion.
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Add the Brightener System
This is what gives the final surface that shine, bright look.
One by one I added:
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10 ml of Make Up Opening Agent
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0.5 ml of A part
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0.5 ml of B part
Mix thoroughly between each step to ensure a perfect dissolution of any substance.
Each of these has a role. The opening agent helps the bath start off smooth, the A component improves leveling and shine, and the B component prevents burning and helps with consistent brightness.
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Top Up to 1 Liter
I topped off the mixture with more distilled water until I reached exactly 1 liter. Then I gave it a good stir and let it sit for a while to clear.
Testing the Solution
Once the solution was fully mixed and topped up to one liter, I set up a small test to see how well it performs. I set my anodes in a titanium anode cage placed inside an anode bag, along with an aquarium heater to keep the temperature around 25°C, which is ideal for copper electroforming.
Over the next few hours, I watched the copper slowly build up on the surface. The plating was clean, bright, and even. No dull spots, no rough patches, just a smooth, professional-looking layer of copper. The bath worked exactly as it should.
Tips for Keeping the Bath in Good Shape
Like any working solution, your electroforming bath will change over time. As you use it, the brighteners slowly get used up, and the copper concentration can shift.
If you start noticing issues like dull finishes, patchy coverage, or uneven plating. It usually means the bath needs a little maintenance.
Here’s what I recommend:
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Add 1–2 drops of Brighteners A and B if the shine starts to fade or the surface looks uneven. Small adjustments go a long way.
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Monitor temperature and agitation to make sure everything stays consistent. The copper plates best at around 25°C with steady movement.
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Top off with distilled water if you notice evaporation. Try to keep the total volume steady, so your ratios stay balanced.
With a little care, this bath can last a long time and keep producing strong, bright copper coatings.
Making your own electroforming solution might sound intimidating at first, but once you do it, you’ll see how straightforward it really is. You get full control over the ingredients, you can adjust it to suit your setup, and the results speak for themselves, clean, bright copper with a professional finish.
If you want to see the full process in action, I made a detailed video tutorial showing every step, from mixing the chemicals to testing the solution on a real jewelry piece. You can watch it now on my YouTube channel:
Thanks for reading, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions. You can find the brighteners I use on my website https://www.cuforming.com/shop.php, and I’m always around on social media if you need help.
https://www.instagram.com/cuforming/
https://www.facebook.com/cuforming.page
Happy electroforming!
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