Home made fabric electroforming

I have set up my own home made electroform tank which I am pretty proud of. I understand how the whole process works and I am able to control the electroforming more with the fabrics when operating it myself.

The principle behind electroforming is the desposition of a metal layer on a base of conductive paint, powder or other conductive material, using a direct current through a solution called an electrolyte. Copper is one of the easiest metals to form with.

The fabric is sealed first as it is porous with an acrylic sealant left for 24 hours to dry naturally and then painting with copper conductive paint and again left for 24 hours.

The process takes time so has to be well planned out before hand. The electrolyte is a mixture of warm 4 litres of distilled water, sulphuric acid 560ml and copper brightener fluid 55ml.

My power supply is a 12v car battery which also needs a car battery charger with it; this is the expensive part! Also attached is the resistance wire and croc clips to control resistance as bigger pieces tend to need hardly any resistance compared to smaller pieces as I require a very smooth even finish from the copper layer

Here is the anode and cathode after their first trial; looking slightly burnt for some reason, which I have not yet figured out

It took a couple of days to get right but here is my first electroformed piece of fabric:

The test on whether I have done this well will be on Monday when I dome it in the workshop. Fingers crossed it doesnt crack!