Repairing traces on an ST keyboard

[Steve]

If you open up your keyboard and see dark spots on your keyboard traces, chances are moisture has gotten through the green keyboard lacquer and your traces have started to rot. Just repaired some traces today on a keyboard and took some photos:

Example of dark spots on traces

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Example of traces that can be 'touched up' with solder to stop further corrosion. Rub down, add flux and run solder over. Then re-seal.

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This area has copper that has completely been eaten away

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Sand it down, run flux and solder over and start laying wire

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Wire laying finished

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Spray with pcb lacquer

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[DoG]

Looks really nice. Much cleaner then a keyboard repair I did.

[Steve]

Cheers :) Yours was a bit more extreme of damage tho! hehe

[rubber_jonnie]

For light corrosion I find that a fibreglass pen is excellent for cleaning up with minimal damage and you can either just re-lacquer or solder as you've done, depending on the amount of corrosion.

Just don't touch the end of the pen or you get nasty bloody fibres in your finger!!

[exxos]

Just don't touch the end of the pen or you get nasty bloody fibres in your finger!!

Needs at least 100 more exclamation marks! :lol:

[exxos]

@Steve be careful the wire doesn't interfere with the rubber cup as it sits down..

[Steve]

@DoG just did a repair in the same place as yours lol, must be a popular place to punch an ST :)

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Push the broken part back in to place with a little force, strengthen with some glue.

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Scrape away the lacquer, check continuity

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Add flux and go over with solder. Add new wire and solder to trace

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Finish by spraying with new pcb lacquer

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Rear side has had glue absorbed into the cracks for strength

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[rubber_jonnie]

Just don't touch the end of the pen or you get nasty bloody fibres in your finger!!

Needs at least 100 more exclamation marks! :lol:

Yup, I have to agree :lol: