I scratched my board while removing a metal stripe for my GPU

[mike234]

Do you guys think this is something that i should be concerned about?
The computer booted up and runs fine as of now. I copied the picture in a word document cause for some reason it wouldn't go through. Thanks

 

[Brink]

Hello Mike, and welcome to Seven Forums.

The screenshot may have been to large to upload, but here is a copy of it for everyone to view.



I suppose that if it's running fine, then it may be allright still. Motherboards have a thin protective clear layer on them, so hopefully all you did was only scratch up this clear top and not the actual copper paths under it.

Time will tell though.

 

[mike234]

I hope it's going to be alright. Thanks for the reply

 

[Brink]

You're welcome. I hope so to.

 

[Corpsecrank]

That looks fine. Sure it's rough that it got scratched in the process but at the same time it didn't seem to distort any tracings in the board which is great. Had you distorted any of those tracings your board would have been toast as soon as you put power to it.

If your concerned about the tracings being partially exposed you could probably use some type of clear coating to cover the exposed areas. You have to be careful what kind of coating you use. I would not suggest something like spray on clear coat for painting or clear nail polish. Those both contain some pretty harsh ingredients that may end up harming things by acting as a solvent against the PCB of the board. Also do not try to coat that while there is power to it obviously.

 

[Brink]

In addition, if you do try to put a clear coat on it, be real sure that whatever you use is nonconductive or it will short out your motherboard the next time you power it up.

 

[Jerryw]

Hi Mike 234
You could use a small amount of candel wax to cover that area with a thin layer i do all the time on CB and ham Radios i repair.
Just light it and let it drip ,but have your computer shut off and unpluged you may want to remove the little battry too ,
and let it dry before you restart your computer !!
Good Luck

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
I would leave it alone.

As an old Engineer the saying "If it Ain't Broke don't fix it" still applies.

Copper Oxidizes fairly rapidly so it will "Self protect" in a short while. (Oxidize means that it will form a chemical compound at the surface layer) so eventually you won't see the bright copper strips any more.

So long as the strips weren't broken or aren't "short circuited" then you are 100% fine - and it's not as if you open the case every five minutes either.

Cheers
jimbo