On Thursday 08 September 2005 08:36 pm, Dave wrote: > I came up with this alternative to immersion plating of PCBs, which is a > sort of sloppy imitation of HASL. Take a decent-sized soldering iron, > ideally a 100-watt soldering gun. Crimp onto the tip a fine and broad > steel or phosphor-bronze brush. Allow the gun to heat up, then generously > tin the brush. Briskly brush this contraption over your etched PCB. > Might this work acceptably or should I just break down and get some > chemicals? If your gonna do this, you need to watch the temperature of your iron or your going to pull of up tracks. Also, a good liquid flux will be needed to achieve a decent flow and finish. For flux, you can use glycerine with a few drops of hydrochloric acid (Muratic acid). But, this is going to make a lot of white smoke - Do it outside or with really good ventilation. In fact, regardless of what you use for flux, commericial or homebrew, your going to have a white smoke issue... Also, you may want to consider using solder braid in place of the wire brush. This will be more gentle. Personally, the white smoke issue turns me off. Regards Marvin
Attachment:
pgpeRDeyzWLXu.pgp
Description: PGP signature