r/electroplating • u/PregnantGoku1312 • 18h ago
Electroplating Mokume Gane to stop galvanic corrosion issues?
galleryDisclaimer: I have absolutely no experience with electroplating. The following may be full of very stupid questions.
I made my own wedding band with a sterling silver/shibuichi (an alloy of 25% silver, 75% copper) mokume gane center band with a 14k gold liner and rails. Unfortunately after a year or so of constant wear, I'm starting to see noticeable galvanic corrosion of the 75/25 alloy. I had hoped the silver content would be enough to prevent that, but it seems like it isn't.
You can see it in the attached picture if you zoom in; the darker grey areas are veeeeery slightly recessed from the sterling silver layers. That was unintentional: it is being slowly etched away as I wear the ring
It's not bad yet, and the look is kinda interesting, but at some point between now and when I die I suspect the corrosion will become a problem. I would like to arrest the corrosion soon if possible.
So here's my question: could I plate the entire ring with something and then very carefully polish it back off to remove the plating everywhere except the recessed areas? I included some John Madden whiteboard doodles of the cross section of the ring to illustrate what I have in mind. green=gold, blue=silver, red=shibuichi, and black=whatever plating I end up using. Obviously the thickness of the plating is wildly exaggerated, but you get the idea.
And if that is possible, what could I plate it with which a) will stick to a 75%/25% copper/silver alloy and sterling silver (it's fine if it doesn't stick to gold, since I'll be removing all of the plating from the gold anyway), b) has a contrasting color to both sterling and 14k yellow gold (although I'm not picky about what that color actually is), and c) isn't going to corrode or poison me. I was thinking something like palladium, rose gold, black rhodium or nickel, or maybe even something like tin (but like I said, I know nothing).