Ag nanoparticles were adsorbed onto epoxy and fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates by dipping them into a Ag nanoparticle colloidal solution to catalyze the substrate for electroless Cu plating. Before the Ag nanoparticle adsorption, the substrates were conditioned with either a cationic surfactant, stearyltrimethylammonium chloride (STAC), or a cationic polyelectrolyte, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA), both having quaternary amine headgroups. The adsorbed Ag nanoparticles catalyzed the HCHO oxidation reaction, thereby allowing the electroless Cu deposition reaction to start. For both the epoxy and the FTO glass substrates, conditioning with the concentrated PDDA solution having a 100x10(-3) mol L-1 quaternary amine concentration was the most effective in producing the largest amounts of Ag nanoparticles to be adsorbed and in providing the fastest initial deposition rate of the electroless Cu plating. When the diluted conditioners were used, a comparison between the diluted STAC and PDDA showed that STAC was the more effective conditioner for the epoxy substrates, while PDDA was more effective for the FTO glass substrates. The effectiveness of STAC was attributed to the strong hydrophobic interaction with the epoxy substrate surface. However, the effectiveness of PDDA was attributed to the strong electrostatic interaction with the FTO glass surface.