Steve, I would concur with Steve Creswick, either a molding compound misalignment or an adhesive of some sort. As to the exposed copper: dunno. The potential for corrosion is higher, depending on what ionics they left behind under the film, and how permeable the film is to moisture and pollutant gasses. Will the assembly be conformally coated for service? If so, with what? Doug Pauls Rockwell Collins --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 To temporarily halt delivery of Technet send the following message: SET Technet NOMAIL 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------