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What is a cheap source for a stripping chemical?

 

To anyone that can help. I am very interested in removing gold from chips and circuit boards, and then refining it myself, where can I get some more information on what chemicals to use to strip the gold from the boards. As I find most of the companies chemicals too expensive because of the Haz-Mat charges. I am also willing to pay a fee to anyone that can supply me with this information.

Thanks a lot and happy prospecting.

Dale Baird
- Connellsville, Pennsylvania

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You can strip gold with cyanide, but that's out of the question in a non-industrial environment. You can strip it with aqua regia, but that's out of the question in a non-industrial environment. Your final choice is some kind of complexor, perhaps citric acid ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil link] based, but you would have to do a good literature search to find any articles on this as a starting point, and then you'd still be a long way from a real solution.

As for paying fees, you should probably do that for anyone who can point you to O-L-D electronics where the gold plating thicknesses were probably ten to twenty times what they are today.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
(Ted can offer longterm or instant help)
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

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