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Old May 17th 07, 10:54 PM posted to rec.radio.amateur.equipment
Dick Dick is offline
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First recorded activity by RadioBanter: Jul 2006
Posts: 70
Default Circuit Board Cleaning

On Thu, 17 May 2007 12:30:44 GMT, (GregS) wrote:

In article , Dick wrote:
What is the latest thinking regarding cleaning populated circuit
boards. Such as the motherboard in a computer. Many of the things we
used in past years are no longer available for environmental and
health reasons. I'm thinking some liquid dish washing detergent in
warm water applied with a paint brush, followed by thorough drying
before re-assembly. Any better ideas?


This would probably be best for a really dirty board. Some use dishwashers. It
even dries them. For sensitive circuits, water can seep into components
and can take a long time to fully dry. Baking is sometimes necessary
if you need it right away. For small areas I use pure alcohol, but the alcohol
attracts water vapor and creates water droplets. I make use of the heated
blower tip on my Weller station to blow around components and down the board.
Alcohol is not a good wash for some things like orange juice
or Coke.

greg


Thanks Greg. I have also found that alcohol is not the greatest for
cleaning boards, although it works good for cleaning flux residue
after soldering. The problem I have always had with alcohol over a
large area is that is leaves a film on the board that looks messy.

Dick

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