Patent ID: 8256084

Claim:
A method for repairing a defective surface protrusion on a metal stencil used in applying solder paste to a circuit board, the method comprising: mounting the metal stencil so that the defective surface protrusion is facing downward; enhancing the detectibility of the defective surface protrusion by relatively positioning the metal stencil, a light source, and a visual apparatus, so that light from the light source reflects off of the metal stencil in the immediate vicinity of the defective surface protrusion toward the visual apparatus; gently pressing a polymerized or polymer-coated tool tip up and against the surface protrusion on the metal stencil; observing the location and degree of distortions in the reflected light while pressing the polymerized or polymer-coated tool tip up and against the surface protrusion; and conditioning both the location and the amount of applied pressure upon the observed location and observed degree of distortions in the reflected light.