Gina

Seems JTW use epoxy resin to protect the gold wires and that definitely seems to be the way to go. But it has to be the right sort of epoxy as I found out for myself! Do you use the felt tips dry? I ask because I tried that with a dry tip on the dead 1100D but even after some time it just polished the surface - I think it will need the car paint polish I used with the manual method. It's very easy to go too deep and destroy the sensor that way. Some parts cause dead pixels, some dead rows and/or columns and some complete failure - I've seen all of these! I've yet to try a blowtorch on a complete cover glass but I have hopes of success.

I tried my Bremel blowtorch on the remains of the cover glass on the 1100D sensor and yes, they dropped off. The sensor got rather hot but that may have been because most of the glass had already come off in bits. I'll try a full cover glass removal tomorrow.

I have ordered the epoxy resin I already have several syringes of various sizes that were used for medicating the goats. I can clean these out and use them for resin. I got the resin directly from Maplin Electronics. I actually got 10 times as much resin for the cost of the postage I reckon I can find other uses for this resin besides the sensors. Once I get the resin I can see how much space it will need and sort out some suitable size containers. I already have some plastic containers with lids that I think might do.

Thank you for all that I'm looking into this whole business again. Several reasons, one of which is I think my 450D debayered sensor is now dead having sustained a broken gold wire in storage I am short of 450D parts but have plenty of 1100Ds. Several bodies less sensors, one with cold finger and one I've recently bought as not working but I believe the problem simply to be a broken battery connector - I haven't had it apart yet. So I'm looking again at using an 1100D for my mono DSLR experiments. A big advantage over the 450D is the more recent image processor with a maximum ISO of 6400 rather than 1600 which is very useful for DSO finding and setting up. We now have a seemingly useable method of removing the cover glass and you have found a satisfactory epoxy resin which makes actual debayering far less risky. I used the polishing method before but by hand which was very tedious but now there's the epoxy solution I would be happy to use my Dremel look-alike with polishing mop. I have a dead 1100D sensor with broken cover glass and many broken wires on which I can practice CFA removal. Regarding killing the sensor while debayering, yes, the short edges (without wires) ARE delicate and will cause failure if touched. This was discussed much earlier on in this very long thread.

Wish that worked with DSLR sensors!

That's good - thank you for the tip I found it incredidly difficult to get the epoxy resin to go in the right place and it really loved to form a whisker that went onto the image area I found warming it up a bit to reduce the viscosity helped. That was with standard slow setting epoxy - I haven't tried Maplin's potting epoxy though did consider it. I would have thought that it should be possible to take the individual parts out of the pack and put them in separate syringes. Then squirt out equal amounts from each and mix it on a non metallic board before dripping onto the job with a toothpick.

I already had a camera modified with a cold finger and Peltier TEC cooling but failing that I guess you could put it in the freezer. Probably the whole camera with the USB cable coming out past the seal.

Thank you I may warm this thread up again before long - I've just bought a duff 1100D to play with from ebay auction

I too will be interested if this epoxy resin works - I tried ordinary slow cure epoxy and that didn't. I had one debayered sensor that was fine at 20C but failed when cooled. Whatever is used it needs to be good down to at least -20C. Sometime I'm planning to have another go with an 1100D sensor as this is a better model than the 450D I have working ATM. The 450D isn't yet in use for astro imaging as I haven't finished the enclosure. I'm waiting on a replacement control board for my 3D printer as I shall be printing plastic parts to my own design. In order to reduce the optical path to accommodate a filter wheel and OAG I'm replacing the main plastic frame that connects sensor and shutter to the front of the camera.