PCB Cleaning

[Whoops]

I'm interested in how people clean up old equipment, especially circuit boards, that have become grimy with age through hot / cold cycles, dust, etc.

I use 2 steps:

1) use compressed air and also a light brush , and more compressed air after brushing it

2) I use a dedicated PCB cleaner product "Kontakt PCC"

 

[ricercar.record]

99% Isopropyl alcohol and ye old toothbrush remains the standard. De-oxit for pots/switches. Compressed air for getting out the dust and cobweb bits.

 

[Cappy]

Try 99% IPA with a paper towel instead of a toothbrush. Brand new toothbrush definitely works great but gets gunky after awhile. I found someone talking about using paper towels and never looked back. Soak the paper towel, scrub, then use a dry paper towel to get any leftover alcohol. An acid brush (cheap for a bunch at harbor freight) or compressed air will get any paper bits left on the board. I thank the person I first heard about this from, whomever it was.

 

[Brian Roth]

I prefer the blue-colored "shop" towels (from a hardware store) vs. the typical rolls of paper towels we use in the kitchen. The blue towels don't seem to leave behind a bunch of lint. I use the blue ones to daub up the cleaning fluid.

Bri

 

[scott2000]

I was given a stack of those Costco micro-fiber optical wipes and they work pretty great even for aggressive rubbing after some ipa. Don't tear or leave lint even in the worst nibs. And can wash them. Would love to find more. They're small but last a pretty good while. Almost like a leather. Not like an actual microfiber "towel".

Grabbed some of those magicfiber cloths and they're pretty good too. Better for finish type stuff. Not as absorbant but usually good enough. I think there is even microfiber q-tips for stuff but never tried them.

 

[JohnRoberts]

I recall organic water soluble flux for PCB soldering. As I recall if the PCBs were not completed water washed clean of any flux, the residue would absorb moisture and become corrosive.

If it says no-clean I ASSume that means we don't need to clean it.

JR

 

[ccaudle]

If it says no-clean I ASSume that means we don't need to clean it.

Technically true, it should not cause corrosion problems on the PCB, but I don't think that necessarily says whether that is appropriate for your application. For digital circuits it doesn't cause a problem to leave it on, but I suspect it could change the properties of a high impedance analog node. No personal experience there.