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:

Chemicals:

1. 180g Copper Sulfate https://amzn.to/3FCOLeE | https://ebay.to/43BtAlg
2. 34g Sulfuric Acid (of dry solute) https://amzn.to/4kMv0jP | https://ebay.to/4mXlOez
3. Distilled water https://amzn.to/4jwXkpx | https://ebay.to/3Hdmvjs
4. The Brightener System A + B and the Make Up

Tools:

1. Glass beaker https://amzn.to/4keEMva | https://ebay.to/4dQiEoI
2. Plastic container https://amzn.to/3Hi8EZ7 | https://ebay.to/3HhtZ4M
3. Digital scale https://amzn.to/4kKCqEm | https://ebay.to/43mJ6Tf
4. Stirring rod https://amzn.to/4mEDFXp | https://ebay.to/453d3ZQ
5. Hotplate stirrer https://amzn.to/3HjKHRe | https://ebay.to/3HAkuxC
6. Stove https://amzn.to/4kjC3Az | https://ebay.to/4kBFVge
7. Funnel https://amzn.to/4dQS0vN | https://ebay.to/4mXlYCH
8. Coffee filters https://amzn.to/43G0HV5 | https://ebay.to/4kmnIUc
9. Felt cloth https://amzn.to/4jo1NdT | https://ebay.to/3HxqdUW
10. Gloves https://amzn.to/45Cp1d1 | https://ebay.to/3ZIyNGC
11. Eye protection https://amzn.to/4mEDQlx | https://ebay.to/4mMSBTt

1. 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.

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.

Download the H2SO4 Converter

Add the Brightener System

This is what gives the final surface that shine, bright look.

One by one I added:

1. 10 ml of Make Up Opening Agent
2. 0.5 ml of A part
3. 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.

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.

To make sure the copper deposits evenly, I added a magnetic stirrer to keep the solution moving. This helps prevent buildup on just one side of the piece and improves the overall finish.

I connected the workpiece to the negative terminal of my power supply, and the anode to the positive. For the current, I used 0.02 amps per square centimeter of surface area, which works well for detailed jewelry pieces. If you're not sure how to calculate that, I have another video that walks you through it.

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:

1. 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.

1. Monitor temperature and agitation to make sure everything stays consistent. The copper plates best at around 25°C with steady movement.

1. 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.

It’s also more cost-effective than buying pre-made solutions, and once you’ve got the hang of it, you can scale up easily for larger projects or repeat batches.

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!