Recommendations for a good epoxy to repair a circuit board

[01redcobra]

I have a circuit board that has a section carbonized and I wanted to know if anyone could recommend a good epoxy to repair it. Thanks in advance!

[nashvillebill]

For most anything else I'd say "JB Weld" , it's some pretty good stuff. Their website claims it's not conductive but...

Or, "Marine Tex" epoxy. It'll hold up on fiberglass boat hulls at 60 miles per hour...a little expensive though. I'm pretty confident that would not be conductive.

[Tom Phillips]

This isn't a direct answer to your question but I don't fill the repaired spot at all. I just dremmel out the damaged material and leave the open hole.
Tom

[Fragger]

I like that suggestion Tom Phillips. I started repairing a SS home stereo today and thought why not drill out the carbonized spot and maybe wire wrap, solder, and heat shrink the 4 or 5 connection to bypass the lost traces.

[olddawg]

If there is a structural problem I would suggest cutting a piece of non-clad PCB board cut from a junker and glue it over the missing area with 5 minute epoxy. But any broken traces you should jump point to point with the appropriate sized insulated solid core wire.

[J M Fahey]

If possible, I try to fill the hole with epoxy; practically any type will do, **except** metal dust filled, of course.
I like to preheat the board with a heat gun, apply epoxy with a toothpick and also give it a couple blasts of hot air.
The idea is to make it "wet" the surface.

If the hole is too big, use whatever's necessary, such as a toothpick, piece of broken PCB, etc. to give it "body".
I have some glass cloth left from the old days, sometimes I add a little piece of it.

The main problem is not the epoxi or filler but grinding away *all* the carbon thoroughly, then swabbing with some solvent or pure alcohol.

[Mick Bailey]

A few years ago I cut my thumb nail off with a machete, leaving a small strip on nail down either side. I wanted a thumb nail while the other grew back and I found a nail repair kit with superglue gel, activator, and tabs of fine glass-fibre fabric. They did the trick, but the leftover pieces are really good for small structural repairs on PCBs when used with 5-minute epoxy (the stuff from £1 shops). Probably $1 shops in the States.

Anyhow, I've since found there are two types of nail repair material - silk and glass-fibre. Use the glass.

And for those who want a song about fibreglass;

Paris Combo - Fibre de Verre - YouTube

[EFK]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!! My skin is crawling after than one!

Very interesting, however. Nevertheless: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!

(Carry on.)

[Steve A.]

The best two-part syringe applicator epoxies I have found are from PC-Products and Gorilla. (Over the years I have tried practically every other epoxy and those ones seem to work the best.) I like the epoxies that start off colored but go clear when they are mixed up properly. I usually mix it up in a cheap paper plate, often using half of a wooden clothespin for the mixing, although I just got a box of non-sterile tongue depressors since I am running out of clothespins. And get yourself a box of the nitrile gloves to keep that crap off your fingers (not a good idea to play your guitar with epoxy on your fingertips! )

Steve Ahola

[The Dude]

A few years ago I cut my thumb nail off with a machete, leaving a small strip on nail down either side. I wanted a thumb nail while the other grew back and I found a nail repair kit with superglue gel, activator, and tabs of fine glass-fibre fabric. They did the trick, but the leftover pieces are really good for small structural repairs on PCBs when used with 5-minute epoxy (the stuff from £1 shops). Probably $1 shops in the States.

Anyhow, I've since found there are two types of nail repair material - silk and glass-fibre. Use the glass.

And for those who want a song about fibreglass;

Paris Combo - Fibre de Verre - YouTube

And now...another episode of Samurai Technician!