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Getting all the right supplies for electroforming can be quite confusing when you&#;re a beginner. For this reason, many artists buy an electroforming kit. These starters kits contain (almost) everything you need to start your journey. But, are they really worth it? Read on to find out everything you need to know about electroforming kits and if they are worth buying or not.
Note: Affiliate links may be used in this post. I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase through my affiliate link.
What will I find in an electroforming kit?
You can find many different sorts of electroforming kits on the market. None of them contain the same items. Some will come with very basic supplies, others will have literally everything you need to start your electroforming journey. After doing some research, I found that most electroforming kits include at least:
Copper electroforming solution
Copper conductive paint
Beaker or tank
Copper anode
Electroforming guide
Safety equipment (like gloves)
Some kits don&#;t even contain a rectifier. I find it strange considering this is one of the most important supplies to have when you do electroforming. But, some people might already have a power supply at home. If you don&#;t, you can buy one on Amazon for less than $100.
See also: How to choose the best electroforming rectifier
How much does an electroforming kit cost?
After a quick search, I found that most electroforming kits cost between $100 and $500. Some are even cheaper. The price really depends on what&#;s in the kit, and where you buy it. Before you buy your kit, make sure it contains only things that you really need and will use.
Whatever kit you decide to buy, you&#;ll most probably have to buy extra supplies anyway (we always need more stuff, right?). I suggest making a list of everything you need before you start purchasing anything to make sure investing in the kit is a good idea!
See also: Electroforming supplies: what you need for electroforming jewelry
Advantages and disadvantages of electroforming kits
Depending on what you&#;re looking for, buying an electroforming kit could be a great option for you. When I first started electroforming, I did consider buying a kit and looked around to find one that would suit my needs. After long hours of online research, I decided to buy everything individually because none of the kits that were available in my country offered exactly what I was looking for. If you&#;re wondering if you should buy one, here are the pros and cons of electroforming kits:
Advantages:
You don&#;t have to look all over the internet to find the supplies
Most electroforming kits come with the basic supplies that you need for electroforming. I find that this is worth it if you already have everything else (like jewelry making supplies if you&#;re making jewelry). If all you&#;re missing is the equipment to electroform, then buying an electroforming kit can be a good option for you! The best thing about it is that you don&#;t have to research supplies online for hours (even days in my case). If you&#;re a total beginner and want to skip the research part, then you should definitely consider buying a kit.
They usually come with a guide on how to copper electroform
This would have been really handy for me when I first started! Most electroforming kits come with a guide for beginners. It explains how to set up your tank, wires, and how to realize your first creations. Once again, it can be very handy if you don&#;t want to spend hours looking for info online.
They give you the opportunity to start electroforming quickly
The biggest advantage of electroforming kits, in my opinion, is that you receive everything all at once. When I bought everything individually, I had to wait 2 weeks to receive all the supplies I ordered. If you buy an electroforming kit you can start electroforming just as soon as you receive it!
Disadvantages:
They are usually very expensive
This disadvantage is actually what stopped me from buying. Most electroforming kits are very expensive. If you can afford it, why not. If like me, you&#;re on a budget, it&#;ll probably be cheaper to buy all the supplies separately.
They can&#;t be shipped internationally
These kits contain hazardous chemicals that cannot be shipped internationally. So, if you want to buy an electroforming kit, it has to be from your country. The US has several purchase options, but if you&#;re anywhere else in the world you might have a hard time finding options.
You&#;ll still have to buy extra supplies
Like I mentioned before, most electroforming kits do not contain everything you need to electroform jewelry. They contain only basic material, and you&#;ll most probably have to buy several other supplies like copper brightener or the safety equipment for example. If you want to electroform jewelry, you&#;ll have to buy polishing tools, patinas, and sealants also.
The best electroforming kits online
After doing some research, I found several electroforming kits online that are worth looking at. I&#;ve put the price of each kit as well as the content so you can easily compare them. Here is what I found:
Price: $83
Kit content:
Copper electroforming solution
Brightener
Graphite conductive paint (0.5 oz)
Varnish (0.5 oz)
2 paintbrushes
Fine copper conductive wire (28 and 24 gauge)
Chopsticks
Rubber gloves
Beaker
Copper coil
Funnel
Coffee filter
This kit offered by Sherri Haab is really affordable, however, it doesn&#;t contain a rectifier. It&#;s a good starter kit for beginners on a budget. You might already have some of the supplies offered in the kit at home, like rubber gloves or paintbrushes.
Price: $495
Kit content:
5-amp plating rectifier
Magnetic stirring system with heat
Four 1,000mL Pyrex® beakers
MIDAS® conductive paint
MIDAS® clear lacquer
1 quart electroforming solution
2 copper anodes
Sunshine® Cloth
12 pairs neo-latex gloves
1-lb. spool copper wire, 24-ga.
12&#; glass stirring rod
4 safety bottles
Plating thermometer
The MIDAS® Guide to Plating
You can find this quite expensive electroforming kit at Rio Grande. In my opinion, this starter kit is way too expensive for what&#;s in it. The good thing is, it includes a magnetic stirrer and a stirring rod. It also comes with an electroforming guide.
As far as I&#;m concerned, I wouldn&#;t need everything in this kit &#; 4 bottles and 4 beakers? &#; and the copper anodes are so small, you&#;d probably have to replace them after just a few plating sessions.
Price: £89
Kit Content:
Copper Electrolyte Chemicals
Silver-coated Copper Paint
Graphite Paint
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit electroplating rectifier for sale.
Acrylic Sealer
Graphite Powder
Copper Anodes
5.5 litre tank with resealable lids
Anode Bag Material
Electrical Connectors
Copper Electroforming Guide
This kit is pretty good for the price. It doesn&#;t come with a rectifier though, just electrical connectors. Also, this kit comes with copper electrolyte chemicals and not an electroforming solution. This means they provide the chemicals necessary to make the solution, but you have to make it yourself. Make sure you are comfortable with that before buying this kit.
Price: $330
Kit content:
1 3-Amp Digital Rectifier with constant current/voltage
1 quart of Copper Electroforming Solution
Full 1oz. bottle of Copper Electro-Conductive Paint
1 bottle of Copper Brightener
4 Copper Anodes
10 gauge Copper Wire
18 gauge Copper Wire
1 oz. of Polishing Wax
1 package of Paint Brushes
2 pair of Nitrile Gloves
1 ScotchBrite Pad
Set of Tube Bumpers to stabilize wire
1 Steel Wool
2 Coffee Filters
Charcoal Filter
1 set of top quality Alligator Leads
1 quart Glass Jar w/lid
Printed detailed instructions
I think this kit is definitely the most complete electroforming kit I came across. And the price is pretty reasonable (compared to the Rio Grande kit!). If you get this kit, there isn&#;t much you&#;d have to buy extra, apart from the safety equipment.
Electroforming kit: Is it really worth buying?
To answer the question, I decided to make a table where I compare buying the electroforming kit from Sheeri Haab to buying all the supplies individually. Here is what I found:
Supplies
Sherri Haab Electroforming Kit
Supplies Bought Individually
Copper electroforming solution
All included in the kit for $83
$18,25 (Rio Grande)
Brightener
$15,95 (Rio Grande)
Graphite conductive paint
$27,95 for 2 oz (Rio Grande)
Varnish/Sealant
$8,25 (Amazon)
Paintbrushes
$1 (Dollar Store)
Copper Wire (24 and 28 gauge)
24 gauge is $11,99 and 28 gauge is $12,49 (Amazon)
Chopsticks
$1,75 (Dollar Store)
Rubber gloves
$1 (Dollar Store)
Beaker
$10,49 (Amazon)
Copper coil
$11,95 (Rio Grande)
Funnel
$1,75 (Dollar Store)
Coffee filter
$1 (Dollar Store)
Rectifier
$75 (Amazon)
$75 (Amazon)
TOTAL
$158
$198,82
As you can see from my table, if you decide to buy the electroforming kit from Sherri Haab, you are saving around $40. Buying everything individually would be a little bit more expensive. However, I&#;m pretty sure that you can get some of these items for cheaper than what I found. I only used Amazon, Rio Grande, and Dollar Store as references. Also, if you already own some of these items (like gloves, a beaker or tank, paintbrushes&#;) you&#;ll end up paying less if you buy the supplies you need individually.
Another important thing to note is that when you buy things individually, they come in greater quantity. For example, you&#;ll get a lot more copper wire if you buy it individually rather than in the kit. Same goes for liquid latex, copper paint, or gloves for example. So are you really saving money in the long run? I&#;m not so sure, to be honest.
See also: How to copper electroform jewelry: step by step process
Bottom line
Buying an electroforming kit can be worth it if you don&#;t want to look all over the internet to get the right items. Also, it&#;s a great option for those who want to start electroforming quickly, and not have to wait weeks to receive all the supplies. If you decide to buy the cheapest kit I recommend, then you will probably save some money. As for the others, you&#;d have to make the same kind of table I made to find out.
I hope this post helped you decide if you should invest in an electroforming kit or not. Are you considering the purchase? Let me know in the comments below!
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