Solder mask solvent?

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Took me a while to even figure out what question to ask! :rolleyes: I was seaching for 'pcb paint remover' ...

You know how you always want to tap into a trace at halfway or get at the ground plane so you can solder a SM bypass cap to a digital part's legs ...

Well the mechanical method seems so ... mechanical! That scratching or grinding must be creating a mountain range at the microscopic level ... :eek:

Surely there's a better way! Surely there's an easier way! Surely there's some exotic chemical out there that eats through solder mask and stops at the copper and ... preps it perfectly for soldering!

Stop calling me Shirley! ;)



I found this, Soldermask Stripper 1380:

http://www.bltcircuitservices.co.uk/downloads/1380 Soldermask stripper E.pdf

I did a quick search at digikey and mouser but nothing popped up.

Are there others?

Thanks,
Jeff
 
I don't know, I imagine anything would have to be used outdoors.

Something along the Acetone line but that is runny.
Some of the stuff I was thinking might work
would be the PVC primer at hard ware stores.

Applied with q-tip or small bristle brush.

Might come right off with a popcycle stick.

Laquer Thinner might work too with some
rubbing. You could then claim your traces
were "hand rubbed" to a nice finish.

These chemicals can be VERY dangerous to your health
and really screw you up. One guy died from using Toluene
solvent and other had permanent brain damage from using
that stuff in doors cleaning off electrical parts.

I know of one or two people who've died from
and the like.

Please be careful.
 
The solder mask is not a paint layer but instead often times a semi-opaque to opaque epoxy. It's typically either UV or thermally cured. As a result, it is usually VERY difficult, nigh imossible, to dissolve except on the cheapest of cheap boards. Even the boards form sites like iTeadStudio have proper solder masks.

Personally, I have tried acetome, methanol, n-butanol, toluene, xylene, DMSO, DMF, chloroform, methylene chloride and ether. Despite their dramatic and diverse makeup none of these seemed to do anything.
 
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