Thanks Rudy! So do I need to start with bare copper wire, and then plate? The wire that I'm dealing with comes from a major manufacturer of wire and cables, that says they comply with a certain spec (I can't remember the spec, it's on my desk at work QSS-343 or something like that) but the wire comes to us already tinned...should I look for un-tinned copper wire and tin it myself, or can I salvage the wire I have? Thanks again Rudy! -Steve Gregory- In a message dated 12/11/00 8:10:09 PM Central Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: << Steve: The problem is almost certainly that the Tin was plated onto dirty Copper (having nothing to do with the law enforcement officers in Chicago in my youth....Sorry, I couldn't help myself...) The Tin plated, but did not adhere. Been there, seen that, only one answer, get clean Copper. If you REALLY are in a bind, and want to do something RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, you can clean the Copper, and do an immersion Tin plate. This is really more cosmetic, than anything, (and of course, we high technology types NEVER do anything just for cosmetic reasons, do we?) as the Tin will be REAL thin. If you are in a bind I will send you free, and at no extra cost, some chemistry to do this. In case you do not understand, you can get Tin plating systems that plate Tin on to Copper just by painting it on...no electricity required....the magic of chemistry... Keep smilin' Rudy Sedlak RD Chemical Company >> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------