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That 'no clean' flux I tried left a crusty mess on a vintage board
I was fixing an old stereo receiver from the 70s this weekend and figured I'd save time with that no-clean flux. Big mistake. After reflowing some joints on the power supply board, there was this white crusty residue everywhere that looked like corrosion. I spent 2 hours scrubbing it off with isopropyl and a toothbrush, way longer than just using regular flux and cleaning it right the first time. Has anyone else had that stuff leave a weird film on older boards?
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perez.willow14d ago
oh man, that white crusty stuff is basically the "no clean" flux lying to you. i swear they call it that so you feel like a chump for not cleaning it anyway. spent three hours last week with a similar vintage board, thought i could skip the isopropyl bath and just use that fancy flux pen. ended up with this weird chalky haze that made me wonder if the board was growing mold or something. honestly, i'd rather deal with regular flux smoke than that sticky ghost film it leaves behind.
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dakota_nelson4314d ago
Heard a repair guy on a podcast say that "no clean" flux is the biggest lie in soldering since lead free was supposed to work the same... apparently it's fine for low humidity or something but any moisture at all and it turns into that white mess you're talking about. I've had it start leaking current between pins on a vintage keyboard controller after a few weeks of sitting in a basement too.
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