Copper Sulfate on steel FREAKED ME OUT!!!!

I actually used to use copper sulfate in the welding industry. If you have to grind through paint or galvanizing, you spray the metal with copper sulfate and anything that doesn’t turn copper still needs to be cleaned off.

Very cool expermient! Scrubbing the work piece with scotch Brite or kitchen pumice and use a degreaser prior to the copper coloring makes it more receptable for the copper.. Copper onto Iron is a exchange of charge or a socalled immersion deposition, you disolve a little iron or its oxide by the solvent of the copper sufate ( or vinegar or chloride) and you deposite Cu ions slash reduce them into Atoms..the more acidic the Copper suffate is adjusted the faster it goes..but fast deposition is larger copper crystals and less adhesion..so slightly acidic is nice...if you warm up the work piece to 30-40 deg. C it works better...since and Immersion deposit is never sealed you can build up copper over copper for some degree than it slows down and stops..but you can re active the copper color with wiping it with sligthly acidic copper sulfate ( CuS04 + a few drops of dil Sulfuric, careful with acid use goggles and gloves).. Now for the deco worker...take it and dry it..then apply Sodium sulphide ( Na2S) diluted in water.. yes the thing smells like rotten eggs..can be made also with onion juice etc..now you can brownish and blacken the Copper entirely and scratch it back with scoth Brite to brings structures alive in the patina.."antique it" .other tricks are heat it and use ammonia and it turns out patina blue in the warm spots...you can produce very lively colors from copper, black, brown and red or turquise blu..your Indian sculpture behind you would turn into a mindblowing monument with real aging and patina apperance like it was buried for 100 years! Thumbs up for your channel! ->tip a clear coat after all makes it staying forevee

This is BADASS. I've been designing a metal wall in my home and this is THE TICKET. Bro thanks for sharing, YOU ROCK.

Being that this is over 2 years old now, I'd love to see how some of those pieces look now and if there was any unexpected results after a long period of time. Thanks for sharing. I'll definitely be playing with it sometime. Thank you for sharing your find!!!

Definite thumbs up! I look forward to trying this out. Thanks again!

The process you're illustrating here is also an old-timey way miners used to get copper out of ore. Many copper deposits are acidic in nature. The ore was pulverized and further acidified with sulfuric acid (sometimes the ore itself was acid enough or other acids were used to cause sulfides to break down into sulfuric acid in the ore) and pull out the copper in solution (probably copper sulfate). Then the liqueur was poured into a vat filled with anything steel (steel wool, old bed springs, car parts, steel cans, etc) and the copper plated out onto the steel. When the steel was sufficiently thickly plated, it was shipped for refining and copper had been milled. This process was mainly used at small mom and pop operations in the last century. You can find these mines all over the west by looking for copper areas with little mines and at the mines you find concrete vats filled with all sorts of rusty steel.

Thank you for making this video. I specially liked the pattern that was created after you sprayed the laquer.

Some cool chemistry going on here. Also some "accidental", but natural electroplating. The iron atoms in the steel displace the copper atoms in the copper sulfate solution; the surfer gives up the copper and attaches to the iron atoms forming iron sulfate. The carbon in the steel grab on to an oxygen atom as a result. This oxidation (rust) is redish brown (we all know this) but the iron-sulfate is bluish in color. Where the iron sulfate outnumbers the iron oxide the "stain" is a bluish color. The displaced copper atoms also oxidize very rapidly turning green, but because this combination has the same electrical charge as the iron sulfate it will not adhere to the steel. The green liquid can be wiped off or if dried it will come off as a powder form. Adding vinegar (Acetic Acid) to the mix combines with the copper to form copper acetate which is also bluish in color and this will electrically adhere (electroplate) to the iron atoms in the steel. The only color you can not achieve permanently without affixing it with some sort of clear coating resin is green. I really only researched this to make sure the addition of acetic acid wasn't creating some sort of noxious fumes you should be aware of - apparently not.

This is my favourite video of all time. Subscribed and wrote this while collecting my jaw off the floor. Now all I need to do is zinc strip some of my steel plates, cut out feathers and then dip them halfway into this solution on monday after I've bought some of that super cool stuff. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this amazing introduction!

The copper in solution is cementing out onto the steel. In metal refining, we use steel to cement copper out of solutions. Try washing the steel with soap and water and sanding the surface of the steel before you apply it and you will have a better reaction.

By dissolving a single crystal of copper sulfate root killer in a spoonful of vinegar you can make an "ink" that writes of polished steel. I use steel nibs from an art supply store to sign my personal steel and cast iron woodworking tools. The lettering tends to be kind of ragged but I imagine a process could be developed to regulate the flow-out from the nib. It is clearly a matter of regulating the flow out because wherever the clear ink flows the serous metal turns black. If it is left undisturbed until thoroughly dry the signature will be quite durable. I suppose a brass nib - if there is such a thing - or even a steel nib with the contact point polished smooth would glide more evenly.

Yeah man. It's an exciting finding. Cool project, This is my 1st visit to your channel. I love it. Keep us informing new findings. Tanks!

Hi! I started as a mold maker for die cast molds back in the early 80's. We used copper sulfate to discolor the steel and do layout. We did this because other layout types out wash off with the cutting oils used. What a great way to make patina! All these years and never thought of it

I copper plated a couple pieces of feeler gauge many months ago by dipping the steel into the copper sulfate bath--waste product from making nitric acid. I recently got into chemistry last September as a hobby. I discovered on accident as well that copper could be plated onto steel (non-stainless) without electricity and I was thrilled. I made a quick video about it.--not sure if I ever made a follow up video. Now that I know more about chemistry, I found out what was happening as far as the reaction. You can neutralize the acid (copper sulfate/blue vitriol) by using a solution of sodium bicarbonate and wash the surface. You can get a perfectly even coat of copper if you want to go for that effect. I found pre-treating the steel surface with dilute hydrochloric acid will help increase the bond strength and durability of the copper. Don't worry about the surface becoming black with copper oxide if you don't have time to apply a protective sealant on your work-piece. It will actually protect the copper underneath the oxide layer from further corrosion. Just scrub it down with steel wool and fine grit sandpaper for that even brushed copper look. If any spots aren't perfectly uniform in copper, you can apply more coats of copper sulfate and finish the surface to your liking. This is obviously easier with small pieces that can be dipped into solution, but I think brushing it on should work just as well after seeing your results. As a bonus, you can use a Sharpie marker and draw designs on the metal. The copper won't adhere to the steel at all wherever the marker is. The marker can be removed later with solvent.

I discovered this in the 70's when learning to make stained glass projects. It was used to treat the lead solder to give it a slight copper color. Also figured out to make it from root killer too - much cheaper. Store the solution in plastic as it will attack metal including a metal cap on a plastic jar. Didn't know it worked on steel too. Great tip!

All sorts of artful application with this method. I will be trying some jewelry applications. Thanks for this video.

It's my first time being introduced to this art. Very cool stuff!

You can purchase straight copper sulfate at most farm stores like Rural King or possibly Tractor Supply. It's used in ponds and small lakes to keep algae down.

A restoration technique that has been around for a very long time indeed. Glad you found it out. Can be used with varying the pH level of the surface of the metal.

totally awesome video!!! Love the art work behind you