Thanks for the advice. I'll try both Kester 331, and alcohol and water with 
regular solder. 


On Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at 11:29:53 AM UTC-5, Pramanicin wrote:
>
> I've had success with washing boards with isopropyl alcohol then washing 
> with water and drying. I use regular solder, nothing out of the 
> ordinary...takes a few scrubs with IPA and the boards look clean afterwards.
>
> On Tue, Mar 8, 2016 at 8:05 AM, David Forbes <[email protected] 
> <javascript:>> wrote:
>
>> Mitch,
>>
>> PC board assembly factories don't use rosin flux these days, because it 
>> can't be cleaned without dangerous chemicals. My city is still remediating 
>> the ground water after the solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) got into it from 
>> the local missile factory and poisoned a bunch of people in the eighties.
>>
>> I've been using water-soluble flux for 30 years. I use Kester 2331 
>> organic liquid flux with Kester 331 organic core solder. It's rather 
>> active, so you have to wash it off within a day or the board gets corroded. 
>> I wash the boards under hot running water while scrubbing with a 
>> toothbrush, then remove the water with compressed air.
>>
>> Another benefit of this flux is that it has super wetting action, which 
>> makes it easy to solder 0.5mm pitch TQFP packages with a standard soldering 
>> iron. I can even solder 0.4mm pitch parts.
>>
>> There is also 'no-clean' flux, which leaves less residue than standard 
>> rosin core solder. That's what is used in many factories where low cost is 
>> king, such as consumer audio electronics. It's not show quality, though. 
>> The Kester organic flux makes clean, shiny solder joints.
>>
>>
>> On 3/8/16 5:55 AM, Mitch wrote:
>>
>>> I can't seem to get my boards as clean as they could be. I spray with a 
>>> pc
>>> board cleaner, then wipe and let it dry, and deal with the residue. I 
>>> never
>>> thought about washing with water. I'll give it a try. Thanks.
>>>
>>
>> -- 
>> David Forbes, Tucson AZ
>>
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>

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