In industrial plants, plastic is most often metallized by vacuum deposition. This method is not available at home. The need to obtain metallized plastic sometimes arises, especially for those who are fond of radio electronics. There are two quite affordable methods of metallization.
Thermal method with glue and foil
If you need to make a PCB or metallize another flat surface at home, you can bond the plastic to the foil while heating. A regular oven will help. To do this, you will need:
- a piece of plastic;
- copper foil;
- glue BF-2 or BF-4;
- solvent;
- clamps;
- copper or wood plates;
- oven or iron.
Take a sheet of plastic and wipe it down with solvent. Also degrease the foil on the side you will be gluing. Lubricate the surfaces of plastic and foil with BF-2 or BF-4 glue and hold for as long as indicated in the instructions. Place a sheet of foil over the plastic. Press down so that there are no air bubbles between the surfaces. Clamp the workpiece between pieces of wood or metal using clamps.
Place the structure in an oven preheated to about 100 ° C and leave for about 20 minutes. Turn off the oven, take out the workpiece and leave it to cool for a day. After that, you can poison the board. In the absence of an oven, you can use an iron by pressing the blank from the foil side to it with the help of clamps.
You can also use soapy water or shampoo to degrease.
Option with copper sulfate - galvanic bath
To metallize the surface in this way, you will need:
- BF or nitrocellulose glue;
- aluminum powder;
- rectified alcohol;
- sulfuric acid;
- copper scrap;
- car battery;
- copper wire;
- plastic or enameled basin;
- paper clip.
Mix glue with aluminum powder until the consistency of liquid sour cream. Apply a layer of the resulting substance to the surface of the plastic and let dry.
If the glue is too thick, thin it with a little rubbing alcohol.
Dilute copper sulfate with rainwater or battery water (you can buy it at a local grocery store). Pour the solution into a dielectric glass or plastic container, you can use a regular plastic bowl. Attach the wire to one edge of the workpiece with a paper clip or screw and nut. Attach the other end of the wire to the battery terminal marked with a "-" sign.
Tie the copper scrap together with copper wire. Connect the wire to the second battery terminal. All fasteners must be above the mortar level. Turn on the current and wait for your plastic plate to be coated with an even layer of red copper. This method is used to metallize complex surfaces with arbitrary curvature. For example, an antenna mirror for a mobile communication device can be made in this way.
