Another name for "No Clean" is "Won't Clean". While No Cleans can have longer stencil life and process windows (almost like RMA) the residue they leave can be impossible to remove. When you have rework or do THT which needs to be cleaned you can make a big mess. IPA takes water from the air and residues can emulsify and look really bad. Bob Kondner -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of N Burtt Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 9:42 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] flux and board cleaning issues Everyone tells me IPA is a poor solvent for modern flux residues, particularly no-cleans. We do still use it but only locally for rework/touch-up however. No-clean does not mean no residue, it just means what is left is safe to leave where it is after soldering is complete. Unless the cleaning solvent and process is matched to the residues, you run the risk of making "unsafe" the "safe" residues located "safely" on your assembly. Freeing up the reside with IPA and then moving it into every available nook and cranny with compressed air seems unwise to me --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 -----------------------------------------------------