Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Homebrew PCBs

Hi All: Just picked up a used Laserjet 4 for use in TT. Testing and
evaluating produced some tips I share. To remove TT from a spoiled
board we all know that acetone makes a mess by diluting the old toner
and staining the board requiring a lot of scrubing to restore a bright
copper surface. I found that gasoline and a dead toothbrush works much
better, the old toner is not diluted but dislodged from the board and
with a little soap and water you are back to a clean board.

The laserjet came with a lexmark toner cartridge that looks like it
has never been refiled and I completed about 30 sq.in. S/S pcb with
maybe 100 linier inches of .15 traces and not a single pit or pin
hole. Considering my past experiance with pin holes in TT I speculate
that the toner is the culprit, and the toner in the lexmark cartridge
for an unknown reason is not as apt to produce the pin holes.

Removing Epson glossy paper from the PCB is easy with denatured
alcohol but it leaves a little residue at the edges of the traces and
in the pad center holes. This residue in easily removed by lightly
scrubbing with a dead toothbrush and denatured alcohol.