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"Wet" cleaning circuit boards...

Steelman

Steelman

Super Member
Hello all,

Does anyone have any opinions on wet cleaning circuit boards. I picked up a Pioneer SX-580 on epay and the previous owner's answer to cleaning the pots and switches for the volume, bass trebel ect was to soak them with WD40. It's all over the tone control board. Tried to clean it as best I could with Q-tips and orange sticks wrapped with rag scraps.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Vincent
 
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Whatever you use, just make sure you get all the WD40 off the pots or it will attract new gunk like a magnet.
 
Stick with isopropyl alcohol. The brake cleaner stuff is often an excellent solvent for getting rid of plastic. There are many different formulas for brake cleaner, and at best it is a game in Russian Roulette in electronics cleaning apps.

WD-40 has no place among most plastics--as prevalent in electronic equipment. That stuff is to pots and controls what Frankie and Elvis were to girls; they go all to pieces.

Bakelite-based pots and controls would survive WD-40, but most of those were out of the picture along with fender skirts and saddle shoes.

If the controls are still intact at this point now that the WD-40's carrier is evaporated then you may be OK, as it is the carrier that seems to act as solvent on many plastics. Just clean up any dust and residue with iso and--if the unit seems to be operating well--call it a done deal.
 
I cleaned up a Yamaha B-2 that looked like it had had the WD-40 treatment. I used 99% IPA. To get rid of the bulk of the gunk I applied the IPA liberally and scrubbed each board with a toothbrush. Then used a vacuum with a plastic crevice tool to dry the board. Then used q-tips dipped in IPA for final cleaning. The vacuum is also very handy for removing any shreds of the q-tips that get snagged on the boards.
 
Mark B said:
I used 99% IPA.
Click to expand...
India Pale Ale? :)

Seriously, I worked in electronic manufacturing for years, and we used to clean circuit boards after soldering in what was essentially a dish washer. But I guess I wouldn't try that with vintage equipment.
 
Where can one obtain 99% IPA? Highest I have found here in PA is 91%

That stuff has many uses!
 
demondog said:
India Pale Ale? :)

Seriously, I worked in electronic manufacturing for years, and we used to clean circuit boards after soldering in what was essentially a dish washer. But I guess I wouldn't try that with vintage equipment.
Click to expand...
IPA is also a common abbreviation for Isopropyl Alcohol. :D

xoaphexox said:
Where can one obtain 99% IPA? Highest I have found here in PA is 91%

That stuff has many uses!
Click to expand...
Most Pharmacies should carry 99% IPA. Fry's Electronics also carries it.
 
I've used plain Windex on really nasty boards. Just spray and rinse with alcohol, followed up by compressed air to blow off any wet spots.
 
Saw a "Simple Green" Industrial promo video..where they used a large industrial " dishwasher" with a simple green solution.But I would imagine the water was DI - WFI or USP..To cleanse circuit board assemblys.
 
I worked my way through college working on old tv sets. The worst one that I ever had was one from a home that was full of 15 or 20 cats. One of them chose to sit up on top of this old 13" color set and filled it full of cat piss. That was unquestionably the worst thing I ever touched, and i used 91% IPA in a spray bottle, I sprayed a full pint of that stuff on that board; high voltage section, pots, everything. Then I set it in the summer sun to dry and it worked like a champ.
The cat lived but they said that halfway into his piss, the stream hit the 2nd anode and he set a world record high jump!
 
Brush as much of the dirt as you can off first, then wash: set the board on end and work down from the top. I use Simple Green diluted !:4 out of a spray bottle, moosh around the fiddly bits with a cheap brush with the bristles cut to maybe 1" long, spritz thoroughly with rinse water from a second spray bottle and blow dry with compressed air. Then let it sit for a day to finish drying.

This works for me and hasn't killed anything yet, although Simple Green can damage inked-on lettering (the white printing on transformer covers, for instance); the data printed on chips is safe, though. I'm not wild about alcohol because I've seen it attack solder mask. Not ruinous, but disfiguring. Probably the Simple Green solution could be more dilute, 1:4 just seemed like a good idea at the time. :D
 
premiumplus said:
I worked my way through college working on old tv sets. The worst one that I ever had was one from a home that was full of 15 or 20 cats. One of them chose to sit up on top of this old 13" color set and filled it full of cat piss. That was unquestionably the worst thing I ever touched, and i used 91% IPA in a spray bottle, I sprayed a full pint of that stuff on that board; high voltage section, pots, everything. Then I set it in the summer sun to dry and it worked like a champ.
The cat lived but they said that halfway into his piss, the stream hit the 2nd anode and he set a world record high jump!
Click to expand...

No doubt..LOL
 
I use plain old water with a little cascade in an ultrasound tank. Followed by compressed air. Leaves everything totally clean.

Before I got the tank, I used the china cycle in the dishwasher. If you wash a transformer, it must be baked dry at 140degrees for 24 hours.

At least, that has always worked for me.
 
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