[SOLVED] How to clean the corroded contact pads on the hard drive pcb?

[invinci]

I took out the PCB of one of my hard drive which is not getting detected just to check whether there's any burned caps or chip and I found some corrosion/rust on the contact pads which makes the contacts with hard drive. I have uploaded the picture for the reference. How can I clean the corrosion/rust from the pads shown in red marked area? A little help would be great. Thanks.

 

[fzabkar]

Use a soft pencil eraser or a cotton bud dipped in isopropyl alcohol. Don't scrub too hard -- it is possible to overdo it and remove the gold plating.

 

[invinci]

Use a soft pencil eraser or a cotton bud dipped in isopropyl alcohol. Don't scrub too hard -- it is possible to overdo it and remove the gold plating.

Thanks for replying. I cleaned with eraser as well as with a isopropyl alcohol but the contact points are still dark in color like they are permanently corroded/rusted. Should I add soldering on them? Will it improve the contacts?

 

[fzabkar]

I've used metal polish (eg Brasso) in the past, but be careful as it will also remove some of the plating.

If there is a JTAG connector on the underside of the PCB, you can practice shining it up. This connector is only used for debugging and manufacturing test purposes.

For example, see J6:

https://sep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-144375...a-seagate-circuit-board-replacement-fw-14.gif