Stein, An alternative to the hazardous acid fluxes is to use an electrochemical reduction method to change the oxides on your leads back to the pure metal form. A mild flux can then be used to solder. The reduction method is a technology called ROSA (Reduced Oxide Soldering Activity) and is being developed by a consortia team lead by Dave Hillman, Rockwell ([log in to unmask]). You might consider trying this new method before going to the active fluxes, which require a very thorough cleaning. Doug Pauls CSL ############################################################## TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c ############################################################## To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TECHNET ############################################################## Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. For the technical support contact Dmitriy Sklyar at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.311 ##############################################################