Cleaning heavily smoke damaged pcb

This is the stuff I used. Figured I'd post a pic of it in case anyone else wanted to try it. Worked great for my situation. I have a monitor chassis that is the worst of them all, I'll post a before and after of it when I get to it.
 

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I would have plugged them in without cleaning anything other than the edge connectors.

Half of my boards I can't see half of the chips anyway
 
This was smoke damage from a building fire. Not just regular dust build up over time. From what I have read, it can be corrosive, can be a bit conductive, so interfere with proper operation, and it smelled bad too. I wanted it gone.
 
This was smoke damage from a building fire. Not just regular dust build up over time. From what I have read, it can be corrosive, can be a bit conductive, so interfere with proper operation, and it smelled bad too. I wanted it gone.
Yes, those can all be true, so the best bet is to clean them before powering them on. Plus, that smell lingers and lingers.

Scott C.
 
This was smoke damage from a building fire. Not just regular dust build up over time. From what I have read, it can be corrosive, can be a bit conductive, so interfere with proper operation, and it smelled bad too. I wanted it gone.
You never know what will result from such smoke damage. Best to clean them as you did.
 
I was planning to try the naptha option today, but i couldn't find where mine went, so I tried a different product. It's a zep citrus degreaser and cleaner. Figured i didn't have much to lose. It worked amazingly well. Boards look like almost new. I first let the boards soak in hot water for a few minutes. Then sprayed them down with the zep. Let that sit for another few minutes, then went after it with a paint brush. Couldn't believe the results.
this is arousing
 
Thx for the suggestion. I have tried simple green. It makes some difference, but not great. This smoke stuff is really stuck on there. Not at all like cigarette smoke.
Try Krud Kutter. It's biodegradable but don't let that fool you. It's recommended in the Candy Cab forums to remove nicotene from the plastics. You spray it and it just melts off the brown nicotine. This may work on soot too.
krud-kutter-paint-prep-cleanup-kk326-64_600.jpg

Del
 
Krud Kutter isn't much different from Simple Green. I used charcoal lighter fluid to get thick tar off a board, then simple green to get that off. If you have that around, maybe try. Someone said it was because of the naphtha, which I see recommended above as well.
Simple Green would not work on the brown nicotene I had in my candy cab. At all. Krud Kutter melted it right off without damaging anything. I was amazed. YMMV.

Del
 
Thanks! Ya, these boards were pretty messed up, but now that they are clean, im really hoping I can resurrect them.
More of a question for everyone in this thread but, how do you make sure the water doesnt stick in the connection points? Dry in oven? Compressed Air? Interested how to make sure it gets completely dry after a good cleaning.
 
More of a question for everyone in this thread but, how do you make sure the water doesnt stick in the connection points? Dry in oven? Compressed Air? Interested how to make sure it gets completely dry after a good cleaning.
Let it sit in your garage for a few days. I'd remove socketed chips. In the summer, it will dry quick.

Jason
 
More of a question for everyone in this thread but, how do you make sure the water doesnt stick in the connection points? Dry in oven? Compressed Air? Interested how to make sure it gets completely dry after a good cleaning.
I used compressed air, and thoroughly dried it, plus it will sit quite a while before power is applied. Others I know will dry in an oven.
 
Krud Kutter and Greased Lightning are noticeably better than just about every other cleaner at dissolving soot and fire grime. Krud Kutter is the best, and is what I'd recommend, but GL works well too. I don't know why, but they both just have something in them that other cleaners don't, when it comes to soot.

The cheapest way to buy both of them is by the gallon, which you can usually find at Home Depot (though in my experience they are sometimes out of them, at least in my area.)

Source: I had a house fire 12 years ago. I tried every cleaner out there.
 
More of a question for everyone in this thread but, how do you make sure the water doesnt stick in the connection points? Dry in oven? Compressed Air? Interested how to make sure it gets completely dry after a good cleaning.
When I clean a monitor chassis, I place it in front of a high velocity fan on high overnight. Bone dry the next day.
 
+1 for the fan.

Moving air will dry out even the smallest crevices. No need for compressed air, just shake the board off after rinsing with hot water. Overnight in front of a fan will sufficiently dry out any board.

(Or monitor, or power supply, etc. They're all washable.)
 
+1 for the fan.

Moving air will dry out even the smallest crevices. No need for compressed air, just shake the board off after rinsing with hot water. Overnight in front of a fan will sufficiently dry out any board.

(Or monitor, or power supply, etc. They're all washable.)
would you remove all socketed chips?
 
would you remove all socketed chips?
Yes... socketed chips should be removed and the legs cleaned with a fiberglass pen or a small wire wheel on a dremel type tool(search for posts by @andrewb on the topic) As per anrewb's comment following mine.

Of course care needs to be exercised in every step of the way... from not damaging traces when removing chips( search Scamazon for "Wiha 26810 5.7 inch Precision Chip Lifter"to not bending legs, mixing the chips up or installing them backwards or bending legs upon re-insertion. you should also use a small paint brush to apply a "light" amount of Deoxit to the legs of the chips upon reinsertion.

It would also be a good opportunity to use the fiberglass pen on any edge fingers or pin headers where cables connect after the board is clean and dry. Deoxit is a good idea on those connections also.

~Dylan

Edits to improve clarity
 
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would you remove all socketed chips?

You don't have to, to wash the boards.

However you should remove all socketed chips, to clean the legs. You want to get a Dremel with a flat wire wheel brush, pull each chip, clean the inner and outer faces of each chip, then paint some DeOxit on the legs and reseat the chip. Obviously do this after you've washed the board. But this is necessary to get rid of the oxidation spots that develop where the chip legs touch the sockets.

I wash all boards before working on them. Then I pull and clean all socketed chips. That way the chips themselves get washed (to remove all nicotine and other grime), then I hit the legs with the Dremel to clean the oxidation.

The only time you need to remove chips before washing the board is if they have paper labels that you care about saving. Many games have plastic labels that can handle being washed just fine. But if they are paper, they can sometimes still be washed, but if you want to fully preserve them, you should remove them.
 
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