I have had some parts returned for a contamination/tarnishing on parts with gold plating. I have attached a photo of the problem. These parts are sent out for plating and we are having a difficult time identifying a root cause. The problem seems to be different from a "black pad" problem. The parts were plated approximately three months ago, and the tarnish is very evident. I would appreciate some feedback. Thank you, <<contaminated gold plating.jpg>> Kristopher J. Keating Technical Service Engineer Circuit-Wise, Inc. 400 Sackett Point Rd. North Haven, CT 06473 Tel. (203) 281-6511 Fax (203) 287-8409 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------