Best Way To Clean Solder Flux
Another option is the use of a vacuum to reduce boiling point of water.
Best way to clean solder flux. Hot water removes solder flux. While this may be adequate for no-clean flux where the goal is a visually clean PCB this may not be clean enough when more heavily activated fluxes are involved like RA or aqueous. When I began working as an electronic equipment repair tech back in the early 70s we all used soap and water to remove any flux we got on our hands.
After soldering the excess flux and flux residue can be cleaned with ethanol or methanol. To clean flux after soldering you can wash each panel as you finish it in warm soapy water. Bleach is a good sanitizer if you can afford to rinse carefully.
Following the reflow process the flux leaves a small amount of residue around the various solder joints. I have only used borax as a flux which forms into a glass-like coating during the silver soldering process. However we use a lead free solder wire 35 flux inside the core and after the soldering its a visible wet and surface gets clean but it.
Usually no-clean flux cleans up nicely with isopropyl alcohol or distilled water. Other surface oxides are easier to remove and for these the jeweler can use an acid solution commonly called pickle which will also remove the residue of flux at the same time. If you are having trouble removing the flux use a dilute solution of lye.
This depends greatly on what kind of solder and flux you used. Step 2- Using a brush apply flux with solder to both pieces of the terminal that need to be connected. The most common way to clean flux residues from a repair area is to saturate a cotton or foam swab with isopropyl alcohol or another cleaning solvent and rub it around the repair area.
While most old solders will not damage your PCB or circuitry there are times when you want to clean your circuit board of solder thoroughly. No cleans in theory contain lower total solids so as not to need removalcleaning. Which is the best way to clean the PCB after soldering.