In a message dated 1/19/99 12:32:35 PM Pacific Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< Steve-

         How does one apply this gold plating solution?  Is it specifically
for
 reparing soldered gold fingers?  Is it expensive?

 Ryan Jennens
 Phoenix Engineering Design, Inc. >>


Hello Ryan!!

     It's a method called Brush Plating, or Selective Plating...basically, it
uses a DC power source (I've even done it with a 9-volt battery), but they
sell DC rectifiers in different voltages depending on what you're trying to
plate. Gold Fingers and the like don't need much power at all. As far as the
solution goes, you can get it with varying concentrations of gold, but most
contain about a 1/4 of a troy ounce of gold in them, and is sold for whatever
the price of gold is on that day. Assuming the price on the market is $400 a
troy ounce, a gallon goes for about $450...you can plate a whole mess of
fingers with that much!!

    You need to be careful with this stuff, because some of the solutions do
contain Cyanide. There are solutions without cyanide, but it takes longer to
plate with, and the color seems to be paler than the solutions with Cyanide.
Another thing, one needs to know what they're doing when re-plating something.
Site preparation is as important as the plating itself, which means that any
solder must be removed as throughly as possible...otherwise all you'll be
doing is hiding something that will be a problem later on down the
road...gotta make sure ALL the solder is removed, or the first time the board
is inserted into a socket or connector, the plating will come right off.

     I think it's a cost effective way to repair any gold plated areas on a
board, AS LONG AS IT'S DONE RIGHT!

-Steve Gregory-

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