wade7575
New Member
This is my first thread I'm creating on this forum but I have been soldering for many years about 25 years or more and just the other day I found a great and easy way to get rid of Rosin Flux,I have used MG Chemicals RA flux and AIM RMA flux and the MG stuff to me seem's stickier,also Krud Kutter is a non-toxic product.
I like to use AIM RMA flux for all my threw hole and SMD stuff and pretty much everything but then there is that nasty Rosin to deal with if you want it gone because the board is going to be seen,I also don't like using anything toxic not only because I don't know what it's going to do to me and the earth as well.
So after looking at a few retailers who sell electronic supplies I got fed up with either the amount you had to buy or the price so I went out looking at a Canadian Tire store when I was there a few week's back and I looked threw the paint section for different type's of cleaners as I know people used to use PolyClens for cleaning there PCB's but is no longer made but thought who knows what they might have that might do the trick,I picked up a few different bottles of stuff and then I picked up this stuff called Krud Kutter and looked at the back label and seen it does a bunch of different thing's and seen that it say's it will remove tree sap and so I grabbed a bottle to try out and see how it works.
I soldered up a small clock kit I purchased off ebay that I got to assemble and give as a gift to a friend who I knew wanted one and all I can say is Krud Kutter worked way better then I could have ever imagined.
I used water and 20 to 30% Krud Kutter and I let the PCB sit for 5 to 10 minute's you can let it sit longer if need be and then just simply brush it off,I have not found a need to let it sit more then 5 to 7 minutes myself then I brush it off rinse it with water then put it in warm water with 2 drops of dish soap for 30 seconds and then rinse it with water again.
I called Krud Kutter because I seen it contains Potassium Hydroxide and when I looked up Potassium Hydroxide on Wiki it said that it does not like Lead Tin or Polystyrene and they let me talk to a chemist and he said it won't hurt the Tin or Lead because it's a very small amount of Potassium Hydroxide in Krud Kutter and said it would take 12 hours or more and even then he was very doubtful about that and said it would most likely take longer then that to do any damage,the reason for putting the PCB in the water with dish soap is to nuetralize the Potassium Hydroxide.
I have a few PCB's I have done where I used Krud Kutter and no damage has occurred weeks after cleaning them,also I just use cold water and Krud Kutter and this can be saved to be re-used on your next project,the only thing I do not do is solder on any switch's before cleaning because I have seen sit when using AIM's AIMTERG flux remover the flux came off the PCB and went into the switch and my friend tore his fingernail using so much force to try and get the switch to slide,I always leave any switch's that need soldering on until after the PCB has been cleaned.
Also I forgot to mention on my first attempt at using Krud Kutter I did not wait long enough and although it seemed like it removed all the Flux it did not,the reason I thought the Flux had been removed was because the Krud Kutter is slippery and I could not feel any stickieness,also I was able to remove flux that I left on a PCB for 24 hours and then used cold water and Krud Kutter and let it sit for about 7 minutes and it came right off.
Here is a link to the product and you can also find it in a 1 gallon jug at HomeDepot
http://www.rustoleum.com/product-ca...aners-and-stain-removers/original-krud-kutter
I like to use AIM RMA flux for all my threw hole and SMD stuff and pretty much everything but then there is that nasty Rosin to deal with if you want it gone because the board is going to be seen,I also don't like using anything toxic not only because I don't know what it's going to do to me and the earth as well.
So after looking at a few retailers who sell electronic supplies I got fed up with either the amount you had to buy or the price so I went out looking at a Canadian Tire store when I was there a few week's back and I looked threw the paint section for different type's of cleaners as I know people used to use PolyClens for cleaning there PCB's but is no longer made but thought who knows what they might have that might do the trick,I picked up a few different bottles of stuff and then I picked up this stuff called Krud Kutter and looked at the back label and seen it does a bunch of different thing's and seen that it say's it will remove tree sap and so I grabbed a bottle to try out and see how it works.
I soldered up a small clock kit I purchased off ebay that I got to assemble and give as a gift to a friend who I knew wanted one and all I can say is Krud Kutter worked way better then I could have ever imagined.
I used water and 20 to 30% Krud Kutter and I let the PCB sit for 5 to 10 minute's you can let it sit longer if need be and then just simply brush it off,I have not found a need to let it sit more then 5 to 7 minutes myself then I brush it off rinse it with water then put it in warm water with 2 drops of dish soap for 30 seconds and then rinse it with water again.
I called Krud Kutter because I seen it contains Potassium Hydroxide and when I looked up Potassium Hydroxide on Wiki it said that it does not like Lead Tin or Polystyrene and they let me talk to a chemist and he said it won't hurt the Tin or Lead because it's a very small amount of Potassium Hydroxide in Krud Kutter and said it would take 12 hours or more and even then he was very doubtful about that and said it would most likely take longer then that to do any damage,the reason for putting the PCB in the water with dish soap is to nuetralize the Potassium Hydroxide.
I have a few PCB's I have done where I used Krud Kutter and no damage has occurred weeks after cleaning them,also I just use cold water and Krud Kutter and this can be saved to be re-used on your next project,the only thing I do not do is solder on any switch's before cleaning because I have seen sit when using AIM's AIMTERG flux remover the flux came off the PCB and went into the switch and my friend tore his fingernail using so much force to try and get the switch to slide,I always leave any switch's that need soldering on until after the PCB has been cleaned.
Also I forgot to mention on my first attempt at using Krud Kutter I did not wait long enough and although it seemed like it removed all the Flux it did not,the reason I thought the Flux had been removed was because the Krud Kutter is slippery and I could not feel any stickieness,also I was able to remove flux that I left on a PCB for 24 hours and then used cold water and Krud Kutter and let it sit for about 7 minutes and it came right off.
Here is a link to the product and you can also find it in a 1 gallon jug at HomeDepot
http://www.rustoleum.com/product-ca...aners-and-stain-removers/original-krud-kutter
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