I'm doing a Mission kitchen with lots of copper accents. I have a light fixture I love in brass and I'm certain it was not made in copper. I tried plating a couple of pieces. The small link was plated first and was coated in about 10 minutes. Using the same solution I tried another piece. I noticed that the copper was lying on top of the surface and I could wipe it off with my finger. I left the reaction continue until the battery was discharged. Interestingly, the only part that got plated was the part that I had touched. Another factor to consider is that when I plated the first piece I initailly had the anode cathode reversed. Maybe that prepared the surface for the subsequent plating. Here is the