How To Clean Soldering Flux

After securing and preheating the PCB and void in a vice or PCB holder you suck the solder off the board by squeezing and releasing the bulb from behind the hole.

How to clean soldering flux. Following the reflow process the flux leaves a small amount of residue around the various solder joints. Once you are ready with the flux cleaning solution know that the rest of the procedure of how to clean PCB after soldering is only a matter of time. For Soldering on our production lines we using Kester Solder SN 63 Pb 37 with Flux 245 No clean in addition we using Kester Flux 959 977 2331-ZX.

Different flux types need to be cleaned differently. The flux will be activated by the heat that will start a chemical reaction to eliminate the oxidation. After soldering we using Vapor Degreaser process with RHO-TRON 225 AES-L to clean up the flux.

Check with the manufacturer for recommended solvents. Do not use too much pressure as this may cause the solder point to break. Wipe of the excess flux from the soldered joint with a piece of paper towel.

The most common way to clean flux residues from a repair area is to saturate a cotton or foam swab with isopropyl alcohol or another cleaning solvent and rub it around the repair area. Then use a gentle scrubber or a cotton swab to wipe it away. Use de-ionized water where possible or distilled water if nothing better.

The lower the total solids the fewer residues on the board. At soldering temperatures flux chemically reacts with oxides in order to produce fresh tarnish-free surfaces. This is because corrosive flux continues to damage the board if not removed.

To clean water-soluble flux use Isopropyl alcohol. Solder flux is used to remove the metal oxide surfaces that in the joining process prohibit a bond between the metals. Modify the soldering irons temperature to a standard work temperature of around 300 degrees Celsius.