Bryan Villados wrote:
I was reading a guy's technique for cleaning printed circuit boards of old Apple II hardware. What he does is he takes the boards out of its cases, soaks the boards into a solution of de-ionized water and alcohol, then blows them dry with an air gun. Is this good advice? If so, what's the formula for this (X parts de-ionized water to X parts of alcohol)? And how long do you leave the board sitting?
In my (albeit limited) experience, water is only needed if there is lots of flux leftovers from soldering. For grime and dirt, cheap denatured alcohol, some detergent, and an old toothbrush is the right mixture. You'd want to remove socketed ICs first, especially if they have stickers on them (e.g. EPROMs). This mixture shouldn't harm components. Rinse with some more alcohol and then simply set it up vertically and let it dry by itself. As those fumes are not too healthy, working on the porch or balcony is recommended. Also don't let the board sit in the fluid for long times.
Water can damage components through corrosion, so use it sparingly. Maybe just wipe off dirty solder joints with a wet cloth if there is flux left after the above mentioned treatment.
In any case, let things dry thoroughly before putting the socketed components back in or applying electricity again. The cleaning solution should be thinned with tap water before disposing of it, or just flush it down the toilet.
-- Linards Ticmanis The Master said, "The business of laying on the colors follows the preparation of the plain ground."