pcb pen traces, any good

[goodguys]

Hi and thanks for reading this post.

I'm repairing the traces on an 40 year old quad amp, as some are brittle and some have broken away.

I was thinking of hard wiring with silver wire then using adhesive to hold the wire down onto the board.

But i noticed a second option with conductive pens, i've never used these before, are they any good?
If i were to connect two through holes together, the metal deposit from these pens would just sit on the solder pad, but would it form a good connection. The last thing i need is crackles and pops all the time.
It certainly seems like an easier option, but does it conduct well, the silver would be mixed with all kinds of chemicals and adhesives.

Many thanks. John.

 

[JMFahey]

Short answer, no.
Silver grains are good conductors by themselves but float in insulating varnish and will only touch each other at some edge where contact is poor, to boot there is no real pressure besides drying varnish.

May do for practically no current paths, but not for any significant value.

 

[tomchr]

I'd use regular solid copper wire. If corrosion is a concern give the board a conformal coating after the repair (or clear enamel if you don't care for solderability of the coating).

Tom

 

[goodguys]

Hi. Thanks, will do.

Massive respect. Tomchr. JM Fahey.