Corn. acrylics-coated, optical glass fibers were washed with Me2NCH, degreased with a NaOH soln., etched with HF, activated by chem. coating with Ag (redn. of Ag+ with Sn2+), chem. (current less) plated with Cu and then electroplated with Cu (up to 1 A/dm(2)) for 15 min. Optionally, the Cu-coated fibers were addnl. chem. plated with Ni. The Ni-coated fibers were more heat resistant than the Cu-coated ones. The coating with Cu resulted in an increase of the tensile strength of the fiber. The metal-plated fibers were successively soldered with a soft Sn-Pb solder. Surface quality was assessed by optical microscopy.