Alternative Flux Cleaner for electronics

A comparison of Isopropyl Alcohol, Nail Polish Remover, Acetone and versus proper Flux cleaner.
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[@mrboat580]

Notice that the plastic toothbrush, which held all of the solvents, is fine. The plastics used for the actual electrical parts is much more resistant. It has to have an adequate electrical insulation/heat factor, withstand acidic flux and the often, beyond duty heat resistance due to the soldering operation. Also the bottles that the household solvents are made of. They are extremely resistant to solvents as well. Acetone works for a lot of things. But for a simple cleaning operation like solder flux, you really don't need to leave anything soak. Acetone from hardware/paint store is cheaper than nail polish remover, as is denatured alcohol. Denatured alcohol mixed with water will take things like blood, and other stains out of (often plastic/pvc) carpet and other fabrics as well. For a simple solution you can reuse, try mixing denatured alcohol 50/50 with distilled water and add a few drops of a good, grease dissolving dish detergent. I keep this in a squeeze bottle and it works quite well.

[@examplerkey]

IPA removes/dissolves most flux and doesn't harm the plastic. Cellulose paint thinner thoroughly removes flux faster than IPA but will melt certain kink of soft plastic. Acetone removes flux at thinner strength level and will melt plastic if it's left too long. It's cheaper than IPA and thinner if you want to dip the whole mobo. Of all three, Acetone tends to leave some marks. Flux in low frequency applications is harmless but in high frequency, it's lethal.

[@j.lietka9406]

straight acetone might work, but i think some techs that used it to clean PCBs noted it tended to wash off the ink printing/marks on the board. using those chemicals with bare hands tends to dry the skin on ones hands, fingers. also, some good ventilation helps. thanks for a great comparison

[@Technical_Audio]

Thanks for the video. My bottle of MG cleaner, the same product as yours, says that the ingredients are ethanol, isopropyl and ethyl acetate. MG makes a “heavy duty” version that adds acetone. I would use that only for special cases where dissolving plastics is not a concern. One technique I use to save money on the professional remover is to first place the PCB in a shallow tray and pour just enough isopropyl alcohol (91% is good enough) to cover the top side of the board. Typically less than 1/4” of isopropyl is required. Let the board soak for a while to loosen the flux deposits. Use a toothbrush as you suggest near the end of the soak period. Then remove the board and finish the cleaning with a professional remover solution like the MG to wash away any remaining residue. The pre-soak in the relatively cheap isopropyl does most of the work, and you’ll need less of the expensive cleaner that way. Also, you can use the tray with isopropyl for multiple boards even if the isopropyl gets a bit dirty, because you will wash the PCBs clean with the professional remover anyway.

[@shinningraj]

Will the code marked in paint in resistor safe to soak in isopropyl alcohol for long?

[@TunerNerd]

1 Part WD-40, 15 parts acetone. The Acetone cuts the flux and the WD-40 makes it difficult for it to re-stick to the PCB. You only need a small amount of WD-40 to prevent the flux from sticking. The Acetone will evaporate faster than the Wd-40, so you should work fast. You're welcome.

[@Blinkerd00d]

But wd40 has acetone in it already, right?

[@vat8367]

@@Blinkerd00d wd 40 is lighter fuel

[@jaro6985]

Good comparison. Cutex non-acetone "with coconut oil" would be what caused the greasy texture. It could prevent corrosion, but downside is it has high conductivity. MEK is in there too which dissolved the plastic, its probably nastier than the pure acetone stuff in terms of health risks.

[@candidcamel]

Thank you for taking the time to make this comparison video.

[@Retrograde99]

Tank you so much this really helps me I bought isopropyl alcohol for generally cleaning my fpv drone components and it works great for flux removal too! I see that as a big bonus I bought 1L so I’m happy I bought it

[@mikaelah08]

I worked in a PCB ASSEMBLY 20 years ago, I remember using toothbrush and dipping it in the cleaner and brushed off the flux residue until it completely removed, NOT dipping the PCB BOARD... As I can remember it was alcohol...

[@shader26]

Thanks for the video. A couple of things bothered me though. One is we often have to remove flux after soldering components to the board, not just bare boards. Residue may be there and may not be seen or on other sites I’ve seen evidence that the alcohol does leave residue that can somewhat bridge and make current leaks over time, even as far as a short at some later date. Also have seen tips of using a toothbrush, wetting it, and flicking it so you only are applying the absolute minimum needed to clean off the flux residue, which makes more sense to me than soaking a board.

[@shinningraj]

Thank you so much for this video. I was eagerly waiting for this input. Thank you for testing on plastic too...

[@curbdawg3818]

I would highly recommend using gloves with the 99% IPA (probably all of the others, too) if you do a lot of cleaning. It will damage the skin on your fingers and it is not easy to get them healed back up.

[@gettingpast4391]

I use straight acetone and it works fast, but you have to be careful of plastics. I wouldn't soak a board in it.

[@khaleddhr6238]

Hi,Could i use these for clean micro usb port pins from water or clean ic from water?

[@csar2976]

I would go broke paying $16 for flux cleaner. **toothbrush ** 99% alcohol -spray bottle... scrub thoroughly then ** windex -spray bottle scrub some more...spray alcohol again, and scrub... finally **water - spray bottle you can let it air dry, spray dry, or wipe dry. Has always worked for me, cleaning vintage stereo boards that have had flux on for decades.

[@JohnPham2015]

How is acetone on electrolytic capacitor plastic skin shell?

[@bobcatt2294]

I believe the non acetone cleaner has oil in it as to be easy on the nail bed.

[@obfuscated3090]

Solvent resistant "printer swabs" are cheap in bulk and amazingly handy around the shop.

[@3nertia]

Sorry if I missed it but may I know which flux you were using beforehand?

[@infected7258]

Here’s the best flux cleaner, Isopropyl Alcohol, it also works to sanitize wounds and can be used as fuel

[@shaneintegra]

The nail polish remover said it has coconut oil in it. That's why it had a grease like film on it

[@panglaotravel385]

Not coconut oil

[@shaneintegra]

@@panglaotravel385 it says "with coconut oil" I think it's safe to say it has coconut oil in it

[@chasemartin4450]

99% isopropyl alcohol in an ultrasonic cleaner (or scrubbed with a brush / Q tip) always works well for me.

[@cdyoutoob]

Using the same brush doesn't make for a good test. There are different types of flux and some items will clean some fluxes better than others. There are washing agent that boards can soak in for 10-30 minutes too that you could of tested. The residue is common with 95%+ pure IPA with a lot of fluxes. Generally I find that the whiteness is a sign there is still flux present. All IPA adsorbs(?) water so reduces its pureness, so keep the lid on. It may be water in the IPA that is the cause of the white powder left behind.

[@tookitogo]

The white powder is the non-alcohol-soluble activators from modern fluxes. It's actually water soluble, so for those, 91% alcohol would actually work better. But flux remover is better still.

[@3DJapan]

Why is the expensive one the winner if it does the same thing?

[@AnoNymous-dh2sv]

Little point of a close-up "After" without a before.

[@hoggif]

IPA is cheap and works with most fluxes. Depending on flux, it mahy need differenct solvents. Some are even water cleanable. I use IPA and denaturated alcohol mostly. I guess the non-acetone nail polish remover is something like butyl acetate. It can be bad for some plastics like acetone. Actually even alcohol or IPA can be bad for some plastics if very long time used like hours of soaking. The amount of effect depends a lot on what exact plastic is being tested.

[@InssiAjaton]

A little addition from years of experience mostly with isopropyl alcohol "IPA". And the fresh vs aged flux. At first though a note that there are a number of DIFFERENT fluxes in use and I have not distinguished them in any way. Then to my findings. Some of the commercial flux removers are effective even on partly aged flux (but evaporate too fast), while IPA really works reasonably well only on fresh flux. However, I have good experiences with IPA working OK when a board with several years old flux is immersed in IPA in a plastic bag for 2 or 3 hours. At the end of the soaking, the bag gets a good shaking. The IPA gets discolored. Then the board is removed from the bag and is brushed witch clean IPA. In worst case, a final spray of commercial flux remover now works fine on the already softened flux. But my brushing experience is that I always am better off, if I brush in multiple directions.

[@TECHnoman753]

Tyvm 4 the tips I actually just finished some work on my racing drone and isp works 4 the most part

[@TECHnoman753]

What % IPA do u use?

[@InssiAjaton]

@@TECHnoman753 91%

[@kliklakberlin]

In short: Isopropyl Alcohol does the job. Commercial Flux cleaner means less work, but at 4x the price. Use a soft toothbrush.

[@jeffm2787]

Always had good luck with 10 parts Isopropyl (99% or better), 10 parts acetone and about 1 part Xylene. So around 5% xylene or less. The Xylene just leaves it with that nice clean look and so far I've not had any issues with plastics. No guarantees of course.

[@therealb888]

That's an interesting solution, I'll try it out. It doesn't leave any white residue right?

[@cpopte]

I use xylene to clean my bike chain before waxing. Please be aware that xylene (tholuene) it's HIGHLY TOXIC !!

[@bobcatt2294]

Just excellent. Thumbs up.

[@arpankumar9066]

How to remove white recidio on tha PCBA? ?? Please give me 1 video ☝that topic. ..

[@tookitogo]

Use flux remover instead of alcohol.

[@FIXDIY]

Good work i want more

[@francoisleveille409]

MG Chemicals recommend you use a hog hair brush cat. #852 with flux remover. It will last a hundred times longer than a toothbrush and won't harm the surface of plastics and electronics.

[@Blinkerd00d]

Where do they find cats with hog hair to make the brushes from?

[@francoisleveille409]

@rd00d At the same place as you'll find unicorns. In this specific instance "cat." stands for CATALOG as opposed to "small feline that likes to be petted". Add a few neurons and you'll figure it out.

[@Blinkerd00d]

@@francoisleveille409 I knew lol I was just being stupid. I usually use those brushes you get like in a gun cleaning kit with the black (nylon maybe?) bristles. I'll look into those hog hair brushes tho.

[@francoisleveille409]

@@Blinkerd00d Keeping your sanity requires being stupid a few times a year. Just make sure you don't damage your electronics when it happens as you could lose money and the sum of your precious work.

[@Blinkerd00d]

@@francoisleveille409 oh no- I take my circuits very seriously. I love what I do. I love the smell of solder in the morning lol

[@casper632]

Denatured Alcohol works the best, It is quick acting and also evaporates faster.

[@africantwin173]

So, what do i use for removing rosin from boards. Standard alcohol wont work.

[@tookitogo]

Yes, it does. Rosin is highly soluble in alcohol (both isopropyl and ethyl), which is why isopropyl is the traditional cleaner for it. But modern fluxes are often hard to clean in just alcohol. Commercial flux remover is much, much better.

[@africantwin173]

@@tookitogo ok thanks

[@svenpetersen1965]

There are quite cheap anti-static brushes on AliExpress, Banggood or ebay. I prefer those, since they do not harm electronics. Electro static discharge can do nasty things to semiconductors. A normal toothbrush can cause that.

[@GenePavlovsky]

Can a wet toothbrush cause ESD?

[@svenpetersen1965]

Gene Pavlovsky Why risk it? Those ESD brushes are not much more expensive than a tooth brush. And a wet tooth brush is probably only wet on one end. I have got a very nice selection of ESD brushes in different sized for little money.

[@GenePavlovsky]

@@svenpetersen1965 I'll probably follow your advice and get some, but suspect they will arrive 1-2 months later. Until then a regular one would have to do. Thanks

[@svenpetersen1965]

@@GenePavlovsky It is always good to go the step to a real ESD protection. For assembly houses, ESD is a big deal, because it can cause really nasty problems - a slightly delayed early death of a circuit or different properties is worse than an immediate death. And to get a hobby lab ESD protected is not really hard.

[@GenePavlovsky]

@@svenpetersen1965 Can you please recommend some reading / give an overview regarding hobby lab ESD protection?

[@kapilmeetsingh3702]

Very good keep it up bro 👍

[@bobcatt2294]

Does the non acetone cleaner smell like alcohol?

[@adlanehichembriki220]

No

[@deerhunter8533]

That brush has seen better days

[@nadpul]

Would suggest you wear gloves...

[@jamesedinger4956]

Yes...use gloves with products designed to be rubbed on your fingers...hehe

[@stevenyamada70]

Yes make sure you wear gloves just like most woman do when they remove their nail polish from their........oh wait, you mean it can touch your skin and you won't die?

[@GenePavlovsky]

@@stevenyamada70 When women, children, men or any others remove nail polish from their *nails*, they usually apply it on a cotton disc and wipe just the nails. Some actually wear a glove on the hand that holds the disc. Acetone is a pretty harsh solvent and it is quite wise to use gloves (if you're not using it remove nail polish, you can wear them on both hands). I think most of the nail polish removers switched to other, less harsh solvents, for this particular reasons.

[@thebeerinnandrewmckenna2655]

I dont think you used enough of each chemical, or brushed everywhere

[@Bugsworth]

Thanks for that but im going to try water!

[@arpankumar9066]

Nice

[@3DJapan]

I've never heard of using anything besides IPA.

[@tonytrilex2555]

iv'e been told to use denatured alcohol

[@kac3514]

I use nail polish remover

[@irgski]

I’d recommend u use gloves...esp with the acetone based products.

[@ericschulze5641]

You probably wear gloves to open a box of gloves

[@BillyG869]

I’d stay away from Acetone...Alcohol is best overall, Non-Acetone Nail polish Remover is good alternate, expensive when to look at costs. The greasy is Peanut Oil? Unless you steal it from your girlfriend? That expensive stuff is alcohol and maybe some detergent? Waste your money ?? I’ve been a guy who started out bringing home old radios and TVs from the trash can in my alley. Cutting out capacitors, resistors, scavenging parts to build my own experiments. At 74 I’m still building things. Thats well over 60 years of soldering....Try Brakeclean, available at most discount auto parts houses, works great. CHEAP...Cheap...Cheap. Or Electronics Parts Cleaner from Electrical/Electronic supply houses, expensive but less than that other stuff..I say Good Clean Isopropyl Alcohol is the right stuff. More important, focus on good soldering practices to start with,,

[@TECHnoman753]

Nice lol you sound like older me XD Thanks 4 the info

[@chasebradshaw9314]

Acetone comes in a plastic bottle the plastic bottle.sure is tuff stuff

[@osamaa1891]

I think its a fake comparison. He is using the same picture of board over and over again .. Look at 07:33 and 09:24 , both pics are exactly the same even amount of residue left is same and exactly at same positions in both pics.

[@kareno8634]

Are YOU Kidding me, WHAT is there to See? NO Before, so after doesn't matter.

[@daroritraders]

wish i can see who 4 person dislike it ....

[@unionse7en]

conclusion: @13:13

[@mandh14]

Zippo lighter fluid

[@johnvine5731]

You need to wear gloves. Shakes head.

[@konradschaubert5520]

very unprofessional to not use gloves. bad practice and bad guide.

[@Bugsworth]

Gloves? For nail varnish remover? Hahaha!?!?

[@konradschaubert5520]

@@Bugsworth No. But for the other 3 toxic chemicals.