removing corrosion off circuit board

A

amateur_24

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I a 3d printer controller board that has some light corrosion on it.
I want to get it back to it's shinney condition.
I was wondering would the cheap ultrasonic cleaners I find on amazon work?
Or would I have to build my own for this purppose.
 
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so how does louis rossman clean his boards in a ultrasonic cleaner? He's a technician that repairs mac books in USA. Surely he would ony use it if he can since it's his business on the line.
 
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Louis knows which components can get wet, which most be sealed and importantly, how to get the board dry. I don't think he'd advocate ultrasonic cleaning of a board for solely cosmetic reasons.

But if you can afford a replacement board, give it a try – either way you end up with a shiny board.
 
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amateur_24 said:
so how does louis rossman clean his boards in a ultrasonic cleaner? He's a technician that repairs mac books in USA. Surely he would ony use it if he can since it's his business on the line.
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You can certainly use an ultrasonic cleaner, but you MUST use distilled water, or a suitable chemical cleaner, and you must ensure it's perfectly dry afterwards. Using tap water would be VERY bad idea.
 
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Here are some techniques. You can read and find out which one is appropriate for your board.

How to Clean a Circuit Board of Corrosion

Whether you actively work on electronics projects and devices or just have different modern electrical devices and appliances at your home, you must know the PCBs or printed circuit boards are useful and important. While these certainly offer a lot of functionality in a compact form factor, they...
www.electronicshub.org
 
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Generally, for cleaning industrial control PCBs, we use isopropyl alcohol and a paintbrush or toothbrush to scrub them as needed.

You can also use a fibreglass pencil for spot cleaning if needed, then a solder resist pen to protect any exposed tracks.
 
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amateur_24 said:
I a 3d printer controller board that has some light corrosion on it.
I want to get it back to it's shinney condition.
I was wondering would the cheap ultrasonic cleaners I find on amazon work?
Or would I have to build my own for this purppose.
Click to expand...
Is it really "corrosion" or is it just loss of sheen. Is the circuit board near your print head or in a heated cabinet with your print head? It could be some light thermal oxidation or even some vapor deposited onto your circuitboard from the polymer additives.

Be careful "cleaning" corrosion - you may be removing more material during your cleaning than the oxidation is consuming.
 
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