Let me start by saying I am definitely no expert on PC board repair. Just looking to make this step a little easier.
I had to replace some SCR’s on my Light Driver Board that were not working. After I found the bad SCR’s I removed the board. I wasn’t looking for corrosion because there are no batteries here. I was shocked when I turned the board over and found a 2 inch wide streak of corrosion from top to bottom. I thought it was trashed. I soaked it in vinegar and went after it with a toothbrush. After a good cleaning I was relieved to find all the traces were still intact but looked a bit tarnished.
I pulled out my old electric eraser and a soft pencil eraser. The eraser does a great job of cleaning and polishing the copper traces and it doesn’t seem to harm them. Also the eraser will remove the green coating if it’s not sticking to the board but won’t remove it if it’s well attached. It even cleans the solder joints.
I’ve done this before using sandpaper and even an ink eraser but I cut through the traces in places. The pencil eraser seems much more gentler on the copper. The down side is all the eraser dust it generates. But that can be blown off easily.
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