--- In
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "derekhawkins" <eldata@...> wrote:
>
> > Other "typical additives are methanol, isopropanol, methyl ethyl
> > ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, denatonium benzoate, and even
> > aviation gasoline."
>
> BTW, methyl ethyl ketone is MEK. Denatured alcohol can have "nasties"
> albeit in small quantities. Ethanol evaporates too fast to be better
> than MS for flux removal IMO. While fast evaporation is necessary for
> cleaning surfaces like glass to prevent smearing (methanol is the best
> here), a more balanced solvent is better suited for heavy deposit
> buildup. Furthermore, MS plus compressed air will evaporate almost as
> fast as acetone, in other words you have control over the rate of
> evaporation.
Yes, some of those ingredients surprised me. Basically it's, "You
didn't pay taxes to the government for this booze, so we're going to
put something in it the that'll blind you or kill you." How very
nice. I remember reading elsewhere that there's a move to agents that
won't kill you, they just taste _extremely_ bad, like denatonium
benzoate.
Besides being hazardous to your health, MEK is used to clean resin
epoxies off tools used with them, so I wonder what it does to the
already cured epoxy of a PCB?