how to protect the copper strips of a stripboard from rust

[samcheetah]

ive seen alot of stripboards being ruined due to rust. from what i understand is that this happens when your fingers touch the copper strips. i try not to touch the strips with my fingers and i usually keep new stripboards in bubble packing. but can somebody tell me a better solution. its just that the stripboards look very ugly when they have rusted and i dont like that. what do u guys do to protect it from rusting?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Re: how to protect the copper strips of a stripboard from ru

ive seen alot of stripboards being ruined due to rust. from what i understand is that this happens when your fingers touch the copper strips. i try not to touch the strips with my fingers and i usually keep new stripboards in bubble packing. but can somebody tell me a better solution. its just that the stripboards look very ugly when they have rusted and i dont like that. what do u guys do to protect it from rusting?

Well, for a start it's not 'rust' - rust is iron oxide, the strips are copper so you get some kind of copper oxide.

A simple solution, if it bothers you, is to varnish the bottom of the board after it's completed - you can get spray cans to do this.

 

[McGuinn]

Or tin the board in a tinning wash.
It's a normal part of PCB manufacturing.


Edit: Or just tin the board using solder. It will prevent the copper from degrading as it's more reactive.

 

[Glyph]

Restore a board

You can restore a tarnished but otherwise new board if you prepare a solution of vinegar and salt and dip the board in for a moment or two, then scrub and wash. DO NOT use this method with boards that already have solder, tin or components on them, as this will actually make it WORSE.

 

[tytower]

You can restore a tarnished but otherwise new board if you prepare a solution of vinegar and salt and dip the board in for a moment or two, then scrub and wash. DO NOT use this method with boards that already have solder, tin or components on them, as this will actually make it WORSE.

Thats worth a bump , it works