problem: Too many solvents and boards are not clean
Flux remains on the board after vapor degreaser and "Powdery" white residue after vapor degreasing
Flux type is kester 186
Process: hand solder High Temp alloy, spot clean after hand solder
equipment: Vapor degreaser and spray wash batch cleaner
solvents used: proclean, Flux off-Rosin, BioACT EC-7R, vigon-A200, hydrochlorofluorcarbon (hcfc in vapor degreaser), Isopropyl alcohol
Possible problems that could be contributing to the situation are: Mixing the flux off chemical with proclean [using both (one after the other) to spot clean] QC stamp (white ink) from board house is smearing all over the pcb when you scrub with alcohol. Use bioact to clean the flux and then alcohol to clean the bioact.
After all this, it appears that brushing the board with alcohol and a kimwipe then loading in the degreaser yields the best results. The ole' wash the dishes before you load them in the dishwasher technique. I am not the process engineer nor am I the one who makes the decisions on what solvents to use but I am the one who has to deal with the problem as I am over the cleaning area. Changing to water soluable or no-clean is not an option. Why is this flux difficult to clean? Is anyone else using RMA flux having trouble getting thier boards clean if not what are you using to clean your PCB's?
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