aumoon said:
Hello all,
I did a small scale experiment on some pins...disolved them in a nitric/water mix...got a reddish sludge as by product. Is this copper ? Can you get rid of it ? A fair amount of gold foils mixed in, did I screw up and now have to just toss it ? Reddish brown...more red than brown tho
You didn't mention what kind of pins, or whether they were magnetic. Maybe Kovar?
If you used nitric, it is unlikely your sludge is copper, as it is quite soluble in nitric, unless there is still metal left.
When you ask about problems like this, providing as many details as possible helps guide the advice you'll receive.
A small scale experiment - how small? 1 gram, 10 grams, 100 grams?
Some pins - What was the source? CPUs? What kind? Pins from circuit boards, connector cables,..? Were they magnetic?
Dissolved them in a nitric/water mix - How much nitric? How much water? Distilled or tap water? What was the total volume?
Got a reddish sludge - How much? A dusting or a thick layer?
You can see foils. Can you see any undissolved metal? Is it a smooth consistency or are there chunks?
We can all try to guess, but we'll just be guessing, which may or may not help you.
Give us some more details, and a picture or two of your starting material and what you have now and we'll try to figure it out.
Dave