Cleaning The Circuit Board First

One of my procedures before I started to troubleshoot circuit board is to make sure the circuit board is in clean condition. This means I don’t immediately repair the equipment until I’m satisfied  with the circuit board condition. If the circuit board is full of dust, flux,dirt or whatever thing (objects or liquid) I will make sure that I clean the circuit board first before I do the repair work.

Not only that, if some other repairers have “touch up” the equipment and did not clean it, I will clean   for him too. I will always have a vacuum cleaner beside me and a Thinner solution on my repair bench.You will be surprised that sometimes by cleaning the board you could see where the problem is. Cleaning the board won’t take much of your time. Check the photos below before and after cleaning the board with Thinner solution:

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8 Comments

1. 

   Vic

   May 9, 2013 at 6:03 am

   Hello Mr.Jestine,

   Just wondering if there is any particular brand or type of thinner you are using. I have been very lucky with Swan 99% Isopropyl Alcohol but have not tried thinner. There seams to be so many different types of thinners available not sure which would be preferred.

   Your Thoughts

   Thanks
   Vic

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   • 

     Jestine Yong

     May 9, 2013 at 10:11 am

     Hi Vic,

     Yes I have seen other repair techs also use the isopropyl alcohol. The thinner that I'm using was just the normal type that I bought from hardware shop. Per bottle about 280ml cost only about 1 USD. How much is the isopropyl alcohol?

     Jestine

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2. 

   Vic

   May 9, 2013 at 12:55 pm

   Hey Jestine,

   I use 90% isopropyl alcohol which costs me around $25.00 a gallon. After soldering I use the alcohol to clean up the flux residue. I find that it does a good job and evaporates very quickly. I haven't tried thinner but it definitely seems to be a more cost effective alternative. I will give it a try.

   Thanks
   Vic

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   • 

     Jestine Yong

     May 10, 2013 at 10:40 am

     Hi Vic,

     Thanks for the info. Let me know the feedback if you have used Thinner.

     Jestine

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3. 

   John Preher

   May 10, 2013 at 2:58 pm

   I personally use anhydrous isopropyl alcohol

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   • 

     Jestine Yong

     May 10, 2013 at 9:16 pm

     HI John,

     Thanks for the tip. Guess I will try that.

     Jestine

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4. 

   totz

   June 27, 2019 at 3:02 am

   what type of thinner use to clean laquer or kerosene paint thinner?

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5. 

   Samir

   September 22, 2019 at 10:23 am

   How to clean circuit board which is connected to battery (3.6 volts) to preserve data / parameters?
   I can not remove battery otherwise data / parameters can be lost.

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