Homebrew PCBs

ghidera2000 wrote:
> The traces look good though. The dielectric seems to have held up, no 
> evidence of burning etc. Just for the hell of it, I'm going to see if 
> I can clean this up and replace the ICs to see if I can get it 
> working again.
> 
> Question is, Whats a good method of drying out the board after 
> cleaning? I'll go at it with distilled water and a soft brush, then 
> some contact cleaner but I'm worried about water trapped in little 
> nooks and crannies.

Its pointless applying cleaner AFTER rinsing with distilled water. Cleaner 
residue is the killer so you want to rinse with water last. If you have copper 
oxides I'd first scrub the board with vinegar, then do what Tom suggested.
I think sodium hydroxide (a main ingredient in dishwashing detergent) will 
dissolve the white powdery tin(IV) oxides that may have formed on some tin 
plated component leads. Rinse under running tap, shake it dry, then get spray 
bottle with distilled water or alcohol and rinse the board with it. That way no 
residue should remain once dried.

Adam