General > General Technical Chat
Liquid tin solidified
matthuszagh:
A few months ago I used MGChemicals liquid tin (https://www.mgchemicals.com/products/electronics-prototyping/electroless-plating/421a-liquid-tin/) to tin plate the edge connectors of several extender cards. I then left this in the pyrex container, stored it in a dark place and then pulled it out again today to do the same. But, it had solidified (image attached). The consistency is a bit like a gel.
Is there a way to prevent this so that I can reuse the liquid tin, or do I have to discard it each time after use? During the tinning process it was exposed to sunlight. But I stored it in a dark place.
james_s:
Did you seal it in an airtight container when you stored it? If you don't do that, some of the components will evaporate.
matthuszagh:
--- Quote from: james_s on October 29, 2021, 01:43:15 am ---Did you seal it in an airtight container when you stored it? If you don't do that, some of the components will evaporate.
--- End quote ---
That probably explains it. No it's one of those pyrex containers with a rubber top. I doubt those are air-tight. That's good to know.
Nusa:
Add water (deionized preferred) until you have close to the volume you had when you stored it. Give it a few minutes to soak in, then mix best you can by swishing or using a safe-material tool. See if it works.
Ian.M:
That Pyrex dish has a large surface area, and even with a close-fitting lid, I'd bet it lost a lot of water due to evaporation.
Try re-dissolving the residue in a *small* volume of deionised water. Gentle heating in a waterbath may help. If it dissolves, check if its still active by applying a drop to a freshly prepared bright copper surface. If so, I'd bet it will keep much better in a small tightly stoppered jar.
If not, it will be desirable to minimize the bath volume, by making a narrow shallow enclosure only slightly longer than the edge connector, as its quite likely that you'll find that used plating solution doesn't store well even in a sealed container.
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