[sdiy] Press-and-peel question

[Tom Wiltshire]

David,

On 5 Oct 2008, at 01:02, David G. Dixon wrote:

> Dear Fellow Synth-DIYers,
>
> I've just Pressed-and-Peeled my first circuit boards (a pair of custom
> boards for a modified MFOS Sound Lab Mini Synth Plus with built-in  
> Guitar
> Trigger) with Techniks Blue, and a few of the traces on one board  
> were a
> tiny bit less than fully realized in the transfer.
>
> Two quick questions:
>
> 1) If I repair the traces with a garden-variety "Sharpie" indelible  
> felt tip
> marker, will this seal the copper well enough during etching?

I agree with what others have said; this works reasonably well,  
particularly if you go over it a few times. Pens designed for  
overhead transparency film are good.

> 2) If it doesn't work, then what's the best way to fill in the  
> traces after
> etching?

I've successfully rebuilt missing tracks using thin tinned copper  
wire. If you solder it to parts of the track you do have
and then bend the wire to the right shape, you can rebuild quite  
complicated stuff. It'll work for most of what you can do with press- 
n-peel.

Regards,
Tom