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

[Aaron Lanterman]

Sounds like a job for David Dixon! :)

- Aaron

On Sep 2, 2009, at 3:45 PM, John Richetta wrote:

> 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.