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Restoring Corroded Electrical Contacts
Q. I have an electromechanical item that I recycle. The part has a flex PWB with passivated leads and gold contacts. Often I get a part where the gold contacts are occasionally corroded which causes the part not to work. If I scrub these contacts, with fine sandpaper, the part is temporary usable, but because the gold layer is removed the contacts will quickly corrode again. I can only partially submerge the part in a bath. What is the best way to restore these contacts?
Michael Carlotta- Alpharetta, Georgia
2001
Electrochemical Metallizing by Marv Rubinstein
on eBay or Amazon
or AbeBooks
(affil link)
A. This is exactly what brush plating is for, Michael. Use that search term in our Directory of Products & Services and you will find a number of suppliers. If you would like to read about the subject, you can't beat Rubinstein's book .
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Ted is available for instant help
or longer-term assistance.
2001
A. Brush plating has been used for years and years precisely for that and other difficult problems.
Guillermo MarrufoMonterrey, NL, Mexico
2001
A. Hello Michael,
Ted Mooney is correct. Brush electroplating has been used for many years for this sort of repair. The brush plating process uses hand held electrodes which eliminates the need for a plating tank. Therefore, parts can be selectively plated without the need to submerse the part.
Chris Helwig- Valencia, California
2001
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