[sdiy] somewhat OT: trying to identify perf board chemical

[John Richetta]

Hello All,

I have a somewhat OT question about chemicals that is a little hard to  
ask, but here goes.

I received some perf boards a while back, that I purchased on eBay,  
from "hongkongsuperseller", back when I was getting back into hobby  
synth electronics, and in my haste, overlooked (uncharacteristically)  
his feedback, or rather, the lack of it.  I was eventually clued into  
the fact that he is basically a reseller of salvaged parts, and  
surplus or discontinued stuff.  I don't really fault him for recycling  
electronics (on the contrary, I applaud it), though with ICs, it is  
downright shameful not to make it *very clear* when you are selling  
pulls that require lots of testing, some of which may be out of spec.   
But, in any case, I imagine that some of what he sells might be, shall  
we say, somewhat questionable (and, considering the risks involved,  
sometimes overpriced, too).

So, case in point: I bought one of his bigger lots of perf board.   
This stuff seems great: you can hardly find it any more, and never at  
a good price.  Well, the down side to the lot I bought is that the  
entire stack of it appears to be coated in some sort of slick, clear,  
slightly slippery chemical, that has a strong, plasticky, somewhat  
sweet smell to it.  Not sure how else to characterize it except  
perhaps as "artificial" and "volatile" smelling.

(There is a remote chance that the chemical isn't really the source of  
the smell, or all of it, and that the perf board material itself,  
which appears to be mostly plastic, is what smells most.  I don't  
think this likely, though, given the dissimilarity of the smell to  
anything I've experienced with perf board, previously.)

My question is: has anyone acquired such material before, and have any  
good guess as to what this chemical is?  I'd like to know how  
hazardous it might be.  The Chinese, no disrespect intended, do not  
have a great track record WRT electronics and toxic materials  
(arguably largely due to circumstances we help create), so I fear I  
could well be handling either toxic materials once produced here and  
shipped there, once it became illegal, or toxic material that  
originated elsewhere and should not ever be shipped into the country  
but was anyway, thanks to the wonder that is eBay.  Maybe it was a  
solvent used by his crew to clean up some boards in bad shape (doesn't  
look like they are anything other than brand spanking new), or perhaps  
it's a "preservative" chemical, in some way.

I know, this isn't a lot to go on WRT the all-important point of "what  
exactly does it smell like," but I'm just hoping someone here might  
happen to have experience with this supplier, or (more remotely) some  
chemicals that might possibly be commonly used in this context.

Maybe I should just take a board to a chemist, or a lab?  Don't have  
any good leads, or any spare $$$, though...

Thanks in advance for any help, -jar