clean old antistatic foam off IC pins?
Hi, Do any of you have any information on what is considered the best/most appropriate way to clean off petrified antistatic foam off of IC pins? I have come across some vintage ICs I want to save and try to sell to finance other parts of my hobby. These particular ones are gold plated, but that said, some of them have been corroded through regardless, while some are just ugly looking. I've been using IPA, drafting eraser, and Xacto knife to clean the majority of the crud off, but very few of the pins are looking particularly shiny. I don't want to get too aggressive and break more pins off, but they don't look all that great at the moment. Matt R
I’ve used a fiberglass pencil to clean the pins on ICs. Have not dealt with gold plated ones myself so I cannot speak to them. Tony Bogan
On Nov 1, 2024, at 3:45 PM, Matt Reynolds via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Hi,
Do any of you have any information on what is considered the best/most appropriate way to clean off petrified antistatic foam off of IC pins? I have come across some vintage ICs I want to save and try to sell to finance other parts of my hobby. These particular ones are gold plated, but that said, some of them have been corroded through regardless, while some are just ugly looking.
I've been using IPA, drafting eraser, and Xacto knife to clean the majority of the crud off, but very few of the pins are looking particularly shiny. I don't want to get too aggressive and break more pins off, but they don't look all that great at the moment.
Matt R
99% IPA (isopropanol) 73 Eugene W2HX My Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@w2hx/videos -----Original Message----- From: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vcfed.org> On Behalf Of Matt Reynolds via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Friday, November 1, 2024 3:45 PM To: vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> Cc: Matt Reynolds <mattreynolds04@gmail.com> Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] clean old antistatic foam off IC pins? Hi, Do any of you have any information on what is considered the best/most appropriate way to clean off petrified antistatic foam off of IC pins? I have come across some vintage ICs I want to save and try to sell to finance other parts of my hobby. These particular ones are gold plated, but that said, some of them have been corroded through regardless, while some are just ugly looking. I've been using IPA, drafting eraser, and Xacto knife to clean the majority of the crud off, but very few of the pins are looking particularly shiny. I don't want to get too aggressive and break more pins off, but they don't look all that great at the moment. Matt R
Hi Matt, Like you, I have seen the destruction that old antistatic foam can cause to pins, especially gold ones. I had a lot of gold 1702 & 2716 EPROMS that were corroded by foam. I let the pins soak in a shallow bath of IPA overnight and then used a soft brass brush to remove the majority of the residue. Any really stubborn stuff, I carefully used an Xacto knife just like you. I managed to salvage the majority of the chips. Some were just too far gone. Jeff On Fri, Nov 1, 2024 at 12:45 PM Matt Reynolds via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Hi,
Do any of you have any information on what is considered the best/most appropriate way to clean off petrified antistatic foam off of IC pins? I have come across some vintage ICs I want to save and try to sell to finance other parts of my hobby. These particular ones are gold plated, but that said, some of them have been corroded through regardless, while some are just ugly looking.
I've been using IPA, drafting eraser, and Xacto knife to clean the majority of the crud off, but very few of the pins are looking particularly shiny. I don't want to get too aggressive and break more pins off, but they don't look all that great at the moment.
Matt R
Jeff, Thanks. I didn't think about letting the alcohol soak. Some of these are 1702s, just like yours. Many are 1701s! Matt On Fri, Nov 1, 2024, 5:52 PM Jeff Galinat via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Hi Matt, Like you, I have seen the destruction that old antistatic foam can cause to pins, especially gold ones. I had a lot of gold 1702 & 2716 EPROMS that were corroded by foam. I let the pins soak in a shallow bath of IPA overnight and then used a soft brass brush to remove the majority of the residue. Any really stubborn stuff, I carefully used an Xacto knife just like you. I managed to salvage the majority of the chips. Some were just too far gone. Jeff
On Fri, Nov 1, 2024 at 12:45 PM Matt Reynolds via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Hi,
Do any of you have any information on what is considered the best/most appropriate way to clean off petrified antistatic foam off of IC pins? I have come across some vintage ICs I want to save and try to sell to finance other parts of my hobby. These particular ones are gold plated, but that said, some of them have been corroded through regardless, while some are just ugly looking.
I've been using IPA, drafting eraser, and Xacto knife to clean the majority of the crud off, but very few of the pins are looking particularly shiny. I don't want to get too aggressive and break more pins off, but they don't look all that great at the moment.
Matt R
participants (4)
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Jeff Galinat -
Matt Reynolds -
Tony Bogan -
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