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

[Graham Atkins]

Hi John,

I can't help with the chemicals, but just to say there were several  
comments
about this seller some time back. Some parts seemed to be poor copies  
and
there may have been some "fake" IC's as well. He also used another ID  
on Ebay.
Best avoided I think.

Graham

On 2 Sep 2009, at 20:45, John Richetta wrote:

> 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
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