[spott]

i've read alot of posts about people suggesting the scrub down of their PC boards with pure alchohol to clean them after assembly, i was curious if this was necessary or if it is a thing to do if you could, but the project would work fine with or without it. I know mine has ALOT of wires comming off the PCB so this would be rather difficult to perform, should i try?

thanks

 

[AndrewB]

You can scrub off the rosin with isopropyl. Or leave it alone. Your choice.

If you choose to remove it us a very stiff brisle brush and lots of alcohol.

If you leave it alone, well it won't look as pretty, but what the heck.

 

[spott]

so other than looks, scrubbing it with alchohol doesn't do anything?

 

[10SNE1]

>>so other than looks, scrubbing it with alchohol doesn't do anything?<<

Pretty much.

Modern rosin core solder is not really corrosive at room temps.

They are formulated to be active at the melting temperatures.

 

[jeffreyj]

Quote:

Originally posted by spott so other than looks, scrubbing it with alchohol doesn't do anything?

Pretty much... unless the circuit operates in high humidity and/or has high-impedance nodes (like a current source or sink, the non-inverting input pins on op-amps, and much much more...)

So, probably ought to clean the boards for best results. And, besides, some of the highly activated rosin solders, especially those paste types for SMT work, are somewhat corrosive.

 

[spott]

anone else know how to get around the problem of LOTS of wires sticking out of their board? i know mine has tons of them and i don't know how to clean around them

 

[spott]

bump

 

[jeffreyj]

Quote:

Originally posted by spott anone else know how to get around the problem of LOTS of wires sticking out of their board? ...

Diagonal cutters.

 

[tangent]

Clean the board before you solder wires to it. It's often sufficient to have just the main circuit clean, and then leave the rosin on the hookup wire connections.

 

[Tomo]

Hey,

Unless you make huge messes soldering, you wouldn't have massive flux mess. In this case, you can just forget about it. However, in some cases, flux do accumulate.

Alcohol (Ethy or Iso) wouldn't do too much. Consider using flux remover or acetone. Drop few droplets and scrub. Never use in large quantities. And I don't recommend any inhalation. Also, try to avoid handling with bare hands. Use toothbrush and fix it board with chapsticks or something. (Brain use required)

Tomo