The grainy condition is something I have seen several times on very high-mass boards. If the solder cools very slowly, there is condition developing inside of the solder where the lead and tin are solidifying at slightly different times. The lead particles or dendrites are forming small pockets of solid lead that then are surrounded by liquid tin. This causes the solder joints to appear as if they have sand stirred in prior to cooling. This condition looks very much the same as overheated solder, but does not have the discoloration and dewetting that are commonly seen on overheated joints. The "cracked ice" condition is a very similar phenomenon of joints that cool slowly. The liquid solder does "skin-over" while the inside is still liquid, then develops the lines or "cracks" as the inside solidifies. These conditions both occurring on the same board indicate to me that a high-mass, slow cooling cause is the most likely, with the grainy appearance probably being on the joints that cooled the slowest of all. Jon Moore --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------