removing gold plate on copper...any idea's???

lasvegasteddy

had to ask anyway

uh...without destroying the copper

SilverEagles92

I'd like to know as well.

And, would it be any different getting gold plating off silver?

coinman420

i do electroplating for a living although i don`t do gold. if it is plated on it can be stripped off however the surface will be altered after. a couple years ago i stripped plating from this for a forum member.



in preperation for plating an object must be completely clean in order for the plating to stick without blisters or peeling. to do this it must be cleaned chemicaly(spelling?) or electrolytcaly(sp?). this alters the base metal from its original state and will never be the same. just like when a copper coin gets a carbon spot the surface has been disturbed and will never be the same. that said... you can see by the pics above i took care so minimal damage was done. i stripped tin plating from the above coin and i think gold would be easier to remove with less "stripping" need because gold is a better conducter.
JMO

WoodenJefferson

Royal Water (Aqua Regia) will dissolve the Gold...but alas the copper will also be reacted. Once copper is plated, soldered etc. it has forever changed.