How do you clean your PCBs?

I quite drinking last night, but will probably start up again in an hour or two. 🍺 Lagunitas is one hoppy IPA. Gotta be in the mood for that one. I recently discovered Voodoo Ranger when Ralph's put their sampler pack on sale. Good stuff, Maynard! (I almost posted a meme). Kona Longboard lager is tasty too.
 
But for cleaning boards I use two steps.
  1. Gently scrape off the majority of the flux with a small screwdriver. This accounts for about 90% of it and makes the next step easier.
  2. I have a small acid brush that I cut the bristles down to about 3/8”-1/2”. I dip that in IPA and rub the board down to dissolve the remainder. Then I scrub it gently with the brush a few times, clean the brush in the IPA, let it dry, and hit any remainder again.
Usually takes 5 minutes or less and makes any problem solving a lot easier.
 
I’m going to try the scraping first idea. Right now I’m just brushing with IPA first and that just spreads goo all over which is why I have to do the paper towel thingy.
 
Flood the board with IPA before installing pots or switches. I set my boards in a pie pan and pour in enough IPA to cover the board. Go at it with a toothbrush, rinse with IPA & repeat until it's clean. I do not recommend scraping, you could damage something. There should not be that much flux residue to begin with. Clean IPA is not bad for pots & switches, but dirty IPA will contaminate them.
 
Chuck D. Bones said:
Flood the board with IPA before installing pots or switches. I set my boards in a pie pan and pour in enough IPA to cover the board. Go at it with a toothbrush, rinse with IPA & repeat until it's clean. I do not recommend scraping, you could damage something. There should not be that much flux residue to begin with. Clean IPA is not bad for pots & switches, but dirty IPA will contaminate them.
Click to expand...
I should probably not say ‘scraping’ so much as rubbing off any bigger glops with a worn down small screw driver. Definitely not to the extent of scraping off the outer layer.

A guy at my local electronics supply store has a pcb drying rack he’s supposed to give me. He said at the company he used to work for, they’d put all the boards in a tub of cleaner, gently brush any leftover residue off, and set them in the racks to dry. Like doing the dishes.
 
a popsicle stick might be better than a screwdriver.
Last place I worked used a vapor cleaner. The solvent was expensive & nasty.
The first place I worked out of school had a subsidiary in Boulder that used water-soluable flux and a dishwasher. I don't think the city would have been pleased if they knew that their sewage was contaminated with lead.
The rack is a good idea. A circuit board vice will also work if you're only drying one at a time.
 
jhaneyzz said:
I just realized that “IPA” was Isopropyl Alcohol… I thought you guys were joking and you were christening your boards with India Pale Ale… true story.
Click to expand...
I ALWAYS think beer first, even though I know the reference (here on the forum in most cases and elsewhere) is for IsoPropyl Alcohol.

One of my earliest posts on the forum referenced Belhaven Black.

I'm back in HK at the moment, where I can buy beer at convenience stores, supermarkets and then go drink in the street without fines or getting arrested (well, depends on how much I drink...)

Consumed a Hoegaarden with raspberry last night. Palatable, but I think I prefer the beer without the raspberry and yet I love raspberries.

Andare has inspired me to get a Budvar today at some point.
 
Feral Feline said:
I ALWAYS think beer first, even though I know the reference (here on the forum in most cases and elsewhere) is for IsoPropyl Alcohol.

One of my earliest posts on the forum referenced Belhaven Black.

I'm back in HK at the moment, where I can buy beer at convenience stores, supermarkets and then go drink in the street without fines or getting arrested (well, depends on how much I drink...)

Consumed a Hoegaarden with raspberry last night. Palatable, but I think I prefer the beer without the raspberry and yet I love raspberries.

Andare has inspired me to get a Budvar today at some point.
Click to expand...
Budvar has to be the hands down best lager out there. I love it.
 
Last edited:
Chuck D. Bones said:
a popsicle stick might be better than a screwdriver.
Last place I worked used a vapor cleaner. The solvent was expensive & nasty.
The first place I worked out of school had a subsidiary in Boulder that used water-soluable flux and a dishwasher. I don't think the city would have been pleased if they knew that their sewage was contaminated with lead.
The rack is a good idea. A circuit board vice will also work if you're only drying one at a time.
Click to expand...
I understand the concept of preventing lead contamination when washing boards on a commercial-scale, but how much lead do you think is being washed away from the average guitar pedal PCB?

I am genuinely curious because I recently started using Kester 331 and absolutely LOVE how easy it is to clean with warm water. That being said, if I'm flushing lead down the drain using this stuff, I'll probably just go back to Kester 245 or 44 entirely.
 
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