homemade contact cleaner?
Shrad, Mon Nov 25 2013, 02:03PMhi there
anyone has a clue about a recipe for some contact cleaner?
I was thinking about boric acid or something, but I've got no clue about this and no real time to search for now, so I figured I could start a discussion which might turn interesting for others
this is mainly for some nasty oxids formed on legs of really old logic chips or even tube and their sockets which tend to get unsolderable...
Re: homemade contact cleaner?
Bjørn, Mon Nov 25 2013, 05:32PM
If you have nothing else then toothpaste, an old toothbrush, some drops of water and a dose of optimism works well if the condition is not too bad.
Bjørn, Mon Nov 25 2013, 05:32PM
If you have nothing else then toothpaste, an old toothbrush, some drops of water and a dose of optimism works well if the condition is not too bad.
Re: homemade contact cleaner?
Shrad, Tue Nov 26 2013, 08:39AM
I don't think it would be of much use with things like oxydated tube pins or things like that...
maybe some brands of fluxes would enable plating of the pins to refresh their condition? I'll have to make some tests as soon as I have access to a bench (currently overmessed with house modifications and a newborn child..)
Shrad, Tue Nov 26 2013, 08:39AM
I don't think it would be of much use with things like oxydated tube pins or things like that...
maybe some brands of fluxes would enable plating of the pins to refresh their condition? I'll have to make some tests as soon as I have access to a bench (currently overmessed with house modifications and a newborn child..)
Re: homemade contact cleaner?
Proud Mary, Tue Jan 14 2014, 01:21PM
I use dilute household ammonia and steel wool to clean valve pins and sockets. An old toothbrush and fine emery boards used for shaping nails can also be useful.
Ordinary domestic liquid brass cleaners usually contain ammonia and a very fine abrasive, and can be applied with a toothbrush.
Toothpaste itself is a very fine abrasive, and can be used for removing fine scratches from glass, though it does take time.
Valves with B7G and B9A bases, and other types where the pins go straight into the glass, can be washed with hot water and detergent in the kitchen sink. This may damage or completely wipe away any printing on the glass, so take care if that is important to you.
Valve sockets made from PTFE or ceramics can benefit from boiling in a detergent solution on the kitchen stove, but don't do this with paxolin fibre board sockets, as they may absorb water.
Proud Mary, Tue Jan 14 2014, 01:21PM
I use dilute household ammonia and steel wool to clean valve pins and sockets. An old toothbrush and fine emery boards used for shaping nails can also be useful.
Ordinary domestic liquid brass cleaners usually contain ammonia and a very fine abrasive, and can be applied with a toothbrush.
Toothpaste itself is a very fine abrasive, and can be used for removing fine scratches from glass, though it does take time.
Valves with B7G and B9A bases, and other types where the pins go straight into the glass, can be washed with hot water and detergent in the kitchen sink. This may damage or completely wipe away any printing on the glass, so take care if that is important to you.
Valve sockets made from PTFE or ceramics can benefit from boiling in a detergent solution on the kitchen stove, but don't do this with paxolin fibre board sockets, as they may absorb water.
Re: homemade contact cleaner?
Ash Small, Tue Jan 14 2014, 03:48PM
If nothing else is available, and if the oxidation isn't too bad I try Coca-cola (other colas are available).
The 'sugar free' stuff isn't as sticky, especially if you 'concentrate' the phosphiric acid by boiling the water off (phosphoric acid 'isomerises', or something at ~200 centigrade. Using it hot also helps
It takes a while, but if nothing else is available......
EDIT: You do need 'some' water in it, as, apparently, it's water that makes acid 'acidic', or so they told me at school.
Ash Small, Tue Jan 14 2014, 03:48PM
If nothing else is available, and if the oxidation isn't too bad I try Coca-cola (other colas are available).
The 'sugar free' stuff isn't as sticky, especially if you 'concentrate' the phosphiric acid by boiling the water off (phosphoric acid 'isomerises', or something at ~200 centigrade. Using it hot also helps
It takes a while, but if nothing else is available......
EDIT: You do need 'some' water in it, as, apparently, it's water that makes acid 'acidic', or so they told me at school.
Re: homemade contact cleaner?
Thomas W, Tue Jan 14 2014, 04:44PM
Just try some copper dissolving acid, you can buy nitric and sulphuric acid on ebay, that 'ought to dissolve the outer layer of the pins, just be careful not to leave it in for too long!
Thomas W, Tue Jan 14 2014, 04:44PM
Just try some copper dissolving acid, you can buy nitric and sulphuric acid on ebay, that 'ought to dissolve the outer layer of the pins, just be careful not to leave it in for too long!
Re: homemade contact cleaner?
Conundrum, Tue Jan 14 2014, 06:42PM
Oust (tm) and hydrogen peroxide works well, but has to be diluted or it becomes PCB etchant
I used 1 part 30 vol H2O2 and 5-6 parts Oust, this recipe removed all the corrosion from a PCB very fast and left the copper nice and shiny.
Did some minor damage but not as bad as I thought it would be, have an ice cold "stop bath" next to it to dunk the board in if things get a bit hairy.
Conundrum, Tue Jan 14 2014, 06:42PM
Oust (tm) and hydrogen peroxide works well, but has to be diluted or it becomes PCB etchant
I used 1 part 30 vol H2O2 and 5-6 parts Oust, this recipe removed all the corrosion from a PCB very fast and left the copper nice and shiny.
Did some minor damage but not as bad as I thought it would be, have an ice cold "stop bath" next to it to dunk the board in if things get a bit hairy.
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