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Was told I was 'overcleaning' boards with alcohol - turns out they were right
A guy in my local repair group in Chicago called me out for using 99% isopropyl on every board even after I just replaced caps. He said I was stripping the flux residue that actually protects the traces over time. I argued with him for like 10 minutes before I looked it up. Turns out he was right - leaving a thin layer of no-clean flux actually prevents oxidation on older boards. Now I only do a full alcohol scrub if the board has visible gunk or leaked caps. Has anyone else had to unlearn a habit like this from a random critique?
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the_robin4mo ago
Didn't Rossman say something similar about flux protecting joints?
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lee.diana4mo ago
Used to roll my eyes at the whole flux thing, thought it was just people overcomplicating soldering. But after watching a few of Rossman's teardowns where he really breaks down why flux matters, I changed my mind completely. @the_robin you nailed it, he literally shows how a good flux barrier keeps oxidation from messing up your joints before the solder even hits. I tried it on an old laptop board last week with no-name flux vs good stuff and the difference was insane. One side turned out crusty and the other side looked perfect, no bridging at all. Kinda embarrassed I doubted him for so long, but better late than wrong.
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