On Sat, 31 Jul 2010 23:55:21 +0100, "Ian P" wrote:

After mulling over all the good guidance and advice I recieved in response
to my original posting I decided which method to use and this evening have
successfully repaired the cut tracks.

I went for the soldered wire jumpers over the breaks, straightforward under
normal circumstances but in this case on a small scale. I bridged four
adjacent tracks using wire 0,05mm (2 thou) diameter taken from super
flexible test lead wire. The tracks were were between 0.1 and 0.15mm wide
and the whole repaired area ended up 0.9mm wide and 4mm long.

With the right equipment, microscope etc I can now see that a repair of this
sort could be done fairly easily, I managed with a strong magnifyng glass
that I fixed in place so I had both hands free. After I fixed the first
jumper I improved my technique and was able to work one handed by using a
longer length of jumper held taught exactly in line with the track by bits
of masking tape at either end. Because of its length its really easy to
position the jumper, I also put a little bit of packing under the ribbon so
that it formed a raised surface to keep the wire in contact with the
previously tinned tracks.

I still have to test the repair but mechanically all the joints are sound
and separated from each other so I'm happy.

Many thanks to all that responded.

Great news! Even if it not work first time, sounds like you find a good
technique to repeat.

Grant.