"Phil Hobbs" wrote in message
m...
William Sommerwerck wrote:

Wouldn't it be possible to make the polyimide conductive by rubbing
graphite into its surface ("The Audio Amateur" had at least one article
about home-made electrostatic speakers that showed how to do this
with Mylar), then plate it?

I'd be worried about the film adhesion--the nickel would only stick as
well as the graphite. Plating plastic involves stuff like chromic acid
dips, reducing palladium salts to form Pd nucleation sites on the film,
and then electroless plating.
Not your ideal home project unfortunately!

Thanks for the clarification.

This is the sort of problem you'd think would have been solved decades ago.
The original SX-70 used copper-coated (plated?) polysulfone, which was then
plated with nickel and chrome. The plating sticks to the plastic with a
tenacity that's almost unbelievable. You actually have to break the plastic
before the plating comes loose.