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

I was developing some ever-muse photo-etch positive resist boards and
didn't have the NaOH... I usually use that with Sodium Silicate as a
buffer.

However, thinking about what I did have on hand, I realized that
"Simple Green" household cleaner might work. It has a Ph of about 10
(at full strength) and contains surfactants and buffers that would
help remove the exposed resist.

I used a warm solution of 1:1 simple green and water.

I dare say that it worked better than NaOH, and is about as fast. It's
MUCH less dangerous to work with and less toxic. In fact it's
biodegradable and we use it in similar concentration to clean our
kitchen. Also, it's cheap and widely available...

Now, whether it works on other board types as well, or even reproduces
the same results is yet to be seen. I'll let people know, but I
thought a few folks might want to try it themselves.

Lorin Parker