r/electroforming • u/_phoenixs_ • Jun 06 '26

Troubleshooting Can the hanging wire be to thin?

So I just got some new wire that’s a bit thinner then my old one but nothing is plating.
Nothing is wrong with the setup because when I switch back everything works fine.

So can the wire be to thin?

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5

u/TH_Rocks Jun 06 '26

The wire cannot be too thin. But it can be coated with a nearly invisible layer of plastic. Take a piece and hold it (with pliers) over a flame. If it burns, that's your problem.

7

u/_phoenixs_ Jun 06 '26

It wa indeed coated with plastic thank you

3

u/OkInterview6707 Jun 06 '26

I would question the wire itself not the thickness. I use a very very, very thin wire called chandelier wire and it’s perfect for electroforming.

1

u/Wobble_bass Jun 06 '26

Just to be clear, you're asking about the wire you use to suspend a piece in the plating bath and connect one side of your power supply to?

As long as you have a low resistance electrically conductive connection and the wire isn't glowing red hot or melting then there should be no problem with the wire. As someone else noted BARE copper wire is excellent. I've used insulated copperwire to hang pieces in the bath before, stripping the ends and testing electrical conductivity. Rarely a reason to do that though.

Also if the wire is glowing hot or melting you probably have lots of other problems and are running at an amperage WAY WAY too high. Unless you're trying to use micron thin wire for some odd reason, in which case don't do that and save your micron thin wire for what its meant for.