In order to remove excess flux, I have a 4 step plan that works for me.
1. Wash excess flux along with an ESD brush (looks like a tooth brush and available on Amazon) using Chemtronics Flux-Off. This gets all the flux removed but leaves some residue. There are cheaper places that sell it, so shop around. Use Painters Tape to wrap up components that may be compromised (either electrically or due to the solvent that can remove labeling on electrolytic capacitors).
2. Immediately pour distilled water (room temperature) on the board, gently shaking off the excess water. I get my distilled water from our grocery store. $1/gallon.
3. Place the board on a wooden lazy Susan or equivalent, and use your hot air gun while spinning the lazy Susan and gently drying the board. The board should be fully dry in 5 minutes. Keep a good distance from the PCB so you don't overheat components, capacitors, etc...
4. Remove any excess flux/residue remaining with little sprays of the Chemtronics Flux Off and dab it with Kim Wipes.
Best,
Anand.
1. Wash excess flux along with an ESD brush (looks like a tooth brush and available on Amazon) using Chemtronics Flux-Off. This gets all the flux removed but leaves some residue. There are cheaper places that sell it, so shop around. Use Painters Tape to wrap up components that may be compromised (either electrically or due to the solvent that can remove labeling on electrolytic capacitors).
2. Immediately pour distilled water (room temperature) on the board, gently shaking off the excess water. I get my distilled water from our grocery store. $1/gallon.
3. Place the board on a wooden lazy Susan or equivalent, and use your hot air gun while spinning the lazy Susan and gently drying the board. The board should be fully dry in 5 minutes. Keep a good distance from the PCB so you don't overheat components, capacitors, etc...
4. Remove any excess flux/residue remaining with little sprays of the Chemtronics Flux Off and dab it with Kim Wipes.
Best,
Anand.
I just have to add the following experience about what someone deemed as a good idea for cleaning/protecting a circuit board. I don't remember exactly what the unit was that this happened to, but it seems that it was a Carver H-9 unit designed back in the 80' for home theater use. The customer sent the unit to me to be rebuilt. I did notice that on the edges of the chassis it was wet with something. I took off the top cover to discover what appeared to be maybe a half can of something oily had been sprayed from one end of the circuit board to the other! It was dripping wet with maybe De-Oxit, but fortunately not WD40. It had no real smell other than some kind of light oily smell. So now, how to clean such a mess? Step one was to remove the circuit board and clean up the chassis. That was enough in itself using dish soap and anything else that would cut the oil. Finished up with Q-tips after much effort to get residue off of labels on the front panel, etc.
Now the big job. Cleaning that circuit board. Mostly using a chem spray for cleaning pots and such, Spray and wipe, spray and wipe again, until there was less of the gook to deal with. Alcohol dipped Q-tips, along those blue throw away towels, and who knows how much time, I worked the circuit board to a reasonable point where I could start the rebuild. I never mentioned this to the customer because anyone willing to do this sort of thing in the first place became a sort of 'pearls before swine' thing in my opinion. In the end, the unit sounded great, and I felt that I had dodged a bullet or two. Had the unit been run for a long time with oil in it first, I doubt that there would be any real problem until the dust started to settle if you know what I mean.
Maybe this is the sort of reasoning used that I still change my own oil.
Now the big job. Cleaning that circuit board. Mostly using a chem spray for cleaning pots and such, Spray and wipe, spray and wipe again, until there was less of the gook to deal with. Alcohol dipped Q-tips, along those blue throw away towels, and who knows how much time, I worked the circuit board to a reasonable point where I could start the rebuild. I never mentioned this to the customer because anyone willing to do this sort of thing in the first place became a sort of 'pearls before swine' thing in my opinion. In the end, the unit sounded great, and I felt that I had dodged a bullet or two. Had the unit been run for a long time with oil in it first, I doubt that there would be any real problem until the dust started to settle if you know what I mean.
Maybe this is the sort of reasoning used that I still change my own oil.
Simple Green has a pH of about 9, VERY alkaline. It will eat aluminum. We use it to clean small engine carburetors in an ultrasonic cleaner, but must limit time to 30 minutes. That's with a 50/50 mix with water. It also breaks down when heated over about 105-110 degrees.
you power-washed unsealed variable capacitor, unsealed pots, unsealed trim pots, unsealed IF transformers, etc.
Naaah! don't be fussy - he put the Marantz in the oven afterwards, at 170°F