Cheap Flux Cleaner

I was cleaning my wife's engine last week with some of the Heavy Duty Greased Lightning (purple bottle at Autozone); she had had an oil leak and we live on a dirt road so you can imagine the mess. Anyway, that stuff cleans great. It dawned on me to try it to clean boards. So I mixed it about 1:10 with water(10 parts), put it in my little ultrasonic with some rosin covered boards (some of these were old prototypes that basically had the flux burned on. After a few mins I dried the boards and checked them under the binocular scope. I couldn't believe it, all the flux was cleaned off, even in the cranies between and under IC pins. I've also learned not overdo it as this stuff it will pit the solder itself if left for extended (like 10min) times. Cleans water soluable and rosin based and easy water rinse cleanup. No more need to by the expensive solvents and cleaners than are flammable and eat you hands . This may be old news to some, but it's Great news to me.

Thanks, Gene

I use Greased Lightning on lots of things but mine comes in a white bottle from Lowes or other places. Just used it to get a stain out of a sweater in the wash. it is very strong. It took the paint out of the control knobs of an old Fender amp I was restoring so too strong for that. I used it for cleaning a filthy spare tire and it just melted all the gunk off of it and looked like new. I think it has a warning about using it on aluminum? Never thought it would work for electronics cleaning.

Yep, Have to be careful with aluminum. It will eat aluminum in a hurry, esp. in an ultrasonic cleaner. It fizzes, bubbles and slowly disappears!

Gene