Skin care in Electronics?

[Doomguy42]

Hi,
I'm just wondering about skin care in Electronics in particular Rosin flux contact with finger tips?

What's the done thing in the industry?

I suffer with psoriasis on my knuckles and fingers, I also work with my hands using hand tools and abrasive materials 8 hours a day and electronics- repairing old boards is my hobby. After a month off work my hands went really soft so I suffered alot of abrasions and worn almost raw fingertips when restarting, combine that with flux contact in the evenings from stripping some Pcbs and my finger tips are killing me... really stinging. Sadly I need maximum dexterity so I can't always wear gloves.

Does anyone have any tips suggestions or things I can try?

Thanks

 

[gophert]

Find a different flux (different formula or different brand or both)
Don't get it on your fingers,
Try a different desoldering technique,
Use rosin-core solder,

One of my bits of wisdom, when you are the only one with a specific problem, it's likely that everyone else found an easier way or the task shouldn't be done.

 

[Pommie]

I've been soldering about 50 years and have never had flux on my fingers. Can you explain how you get flux on your fingers?

Mike.

 

[ClydeCrashKop]

Mometasone Furoate, USP 0.1% ointment or
Betamethasone Dipropionate cream USP (Augmented), 0.05%
Both are Rx only.
Stripping boards, I heat the board & shake the parts off.

 

[gophert]

Hot air gun is very efficient. Some aluminum foil works great to hide parts you don't want to remove.

 

[Doomguy42]

Thanks. Ok what am I doing wrong I'm desoldering stuff like 96pin edge connectors on old through hole boards. I'm wanting to reuse the boards after repairs so then I have to get all the old solder out of the holes.
I apply some flux with a small brush to the back but during the course of a few hours it gets onto my bench, onto my tools and I can't help but get some on my fingers tips as I'm picking up and putting down my tools hundreds of times. I wouldn't say I'm overly messy though :/

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Hi,
I'm just wondering about skin care in Electronics in particular Rosin flux contact with finger tips?

What's the done thing in the industry?

I suffer with psoriasis on my knuckles and fingers, I also work with my hands using hand tools and abrasive materials 8 hours a day and electronics- repairing old boards is my hobby. After a month off work my hands went really soft so I suffered alot of abrasions and worn almost raw fingertips when restarting, combine that with flux contact in the evenings from stripping some Pcbs and my finger tips are killing me... really stinging. Sadly I need maximum dexterity so I can't always wear gloves.

That's perfectly normal - back when my daughter was playing bass A LOT, gigs etc. her finger tips got really tough, they didn't feel it if you touched them, but if you tapped them against a glass it made the same sound as tapping your fingernails against the glass.

Anyway, due to school commitments, and a lack of anything gig wise, she basically didn't play for a month or so - then there was a sudden gig to do.

We went to the gig, it was multiple teen bands playing, so only half an hour or so sets - and when she came off stage she was in agony, her fingers were red raw, not quite bleeding, but not far off!. I took her straight to the bar (soft drinks only for a kids gig) and asked for a glass of ice - but the barman was really funny about it, so I showed him her fingers and he immediately got a load of ice, and even a tea towel to wrap it in.

So the same thing has happened to you, but to a lesser extent - your regular work toughens your finger tips enabling you to do the job without too much pain, but a months rest means they go back all soft again - the answer, I'm afraid, is to carry on working to toughen your finger tips again. It would probably help if you could do this gradually, if at all possible, rather than full on straight away.

I've also been suffering slightly during lockdown, as I've been working from home, and have been manufacturing more items over a shorter time period than I would normally, so I've had aching fingers as well. I've just been in to work and collected another 70 to do, so I'm expecting a fair bit of pain from doing those.

As for flux?, I'm with the rest, you shouldn't be getting it all over you - how are you actually clearing the holes out in the PCB's?

I used to use one similar to this, a number of years ago:

Huanyu S-993A Electric Desoldering Gun De-Solder Gun Solder Sucker Gun Suction Tin Gun Vacuum Desoldering Pump : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

Shop Huanyu S-993A Electric Desoldering Gun De-Solder Gun Solder Sucker Gun Suction Tin Gun Vacuum Desoldering Pump. Free delivery on eligible orders of £20 or more.

www.amazon.co.uk

And it was excellent, I've also used a VERY expensive Pace Rework Station, and that wasn't actually as good.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

I'm desoldering stuff like 96pin edge connectors on old through hole boards.

I just add a tiny amount of fresh tin/lead cored solder to each joint to "refresh" it and break down the oxides, then use a solder sucker and/or wick to clean the pads.

The only times I ever use fluxes separately are for sheet metal & plumbing type soldering, and very rarely either gel flux or solder paste for some types of surface mount work, where normal cored solder is not suitable.

If you must use flux, you could try the phosphoric acid type I use for brass etc.
That's just phosphoric acid "rust remover", the 70 - 75% stuff from ebay, diluted down about 11:1 with deionised water to make a 6% solution. Anything below 10% is considered non toxic and when soldering it just boils off with no residue.

I'd also get some industrial "after work" skin care stuff, that will help prevent skin cracking etc.
You could also use industrial barrier cream before you start handling anything you may be sensitive to.

 

[narkeleptk]

simplest solution:

Ammex Gloves - Google Shopping

www.google.com

 

[gophert]

simplest solution:
Ammex Gloves - Google Shopping

Don't solve the problem, just change the constraints. Are you in sales?

Sadly I need maximum dexterity so I can't always wear gloves.