Capacitors · Tier D

Film capacitors (polyester / polypropylene)

"Metallised film" means vapour-deposited aluminium a few hundred nanometres thick. No silver, no gold, effectively no recoverable metal.

Cu ~20 g/lb

eBay typical$10–40per lb

Refiner pays$0.1per lb

Metal in it$0.21per lb at 4 Aug 2026 spot

Confidencemedof the yield figures

How to spot it

Boxy rectangular plastic cases — yellow, blue, red or grey — with two radial leads, marked like 104K 630V, X2 275VAC, or MKT/MKP/MKS. X2 safety caps sit across the mains inlet. Round axial types in shrink wrap turn up in vintage gear.

Metal content

Metal	Quantity	Notes
Copper	~20 g/lb	tinned copper leads only; the metallisation is vapour-deposited aluminium or zinc, sub-micron and unrecoverable

At 4 Aug 2026 spot prices that works out to $0.21 per pound of contained metal — Copper 20 g = $0.21. A refiner paying $0.1 returns about 47% of that, which is normal: refining costs money and the buyer takes a margin.

Safe removal

Working temperature: Snip leads; do not process

Snip the leads flush; nothing about desoldering them pays. Do not put them in a burn batch — polypropylene and any PVC sleeving produce foul, corrosive smoke for zero return.

Hazards

🧪 PVC and plastics

NEVER burn card plastic or cable jacket.

💨 Fumes, ventilation and open flame

NEVER burn boards, wire insulation or plastic. Ever.

☠ Lead — dust more than fume

NEVER dry sweep or use compressed air on a scrapping bench. HEPA-vac or wet-wipe only.

Before you scrap it

The only reason to keep them. WIMA, Mundorf, Vishay MKP and vintage oil-filled types sell $0.50–4 each to audio and restoration buyers; commodity 104s are worthless.

The common trap

The honest near-zero case. A pound contains about 20 cents of copper and no precious metal whatsoever. Anyone quoting silver content in film capacitors is confusing them with silver mica.

Questions

How much gold is in film capacitors (polyester / polypropylene)?

Copper: ~20 g/lb. At current spot that is about $0.21 of contained metal per pound.

How do you identify film capacitors (polyester / polypropylene)?

"Metallised film" means vapour-deposited aluminium a few hundred nanometres thick. No silver, no gold, effectively no recoverable metal.

How do you remove film capacitors (polyester / polypropylene) safely?

Snip the leads flush; nothing about desoldering them pays. Do not put them in a burn batch — polypropylene and any PVC sleeving produce foul, corrosive smoke for zero return.

Is film capacitors (polyester / polypropylene) worth more working than as scrap?

The only reason to keep them. WIMA, Mundorf, Vishay MKP and vintage oil-filled types sell $0.50–4 each to audio and restoration buyers; commodity 104s are worthless.

Related in Capacitors

MLCC — palladium-bearing (PME, pre-2000) Capacitors · $100–170/lb Pd 2.3–9 g/lbAg 4.5–23 g/lbBase Ni S Tantalum capacitors Capacitors · $18–85/lb Ta 30–40 wt% of the capAg 1–3% in some B Ceramic disc capacitors Capacitors · $20–70/lb Ag 4–10 g/lbPd 0.05–0.3 g/lb C MLCC — modern nickel (BME, post-2005) Capacitors · $20–55/lb Pd 0.2–0.7 g/lbAg 1.4–2.7 g/lbBase Ni 5–20% C Silver mica capacitors Capacitors · $80–500/lb Ag 10–20 g/lbCu ~60 g/lb C Aluminium electrolytic capacitors Capacitors · $0.3–1/lb Base aluminium can D

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