What exactly are the ingredients in the substance ?

The results do look pretty nice

in my country I never heard of it

Nunoalex wrote on 2024-09-11, 15:13:

in my country I never heard of it

It may unfortunately be North America chemical... Not sure though. It is a global company now. They've done so good these last 20-ish years I've been using Zep prpducts.

Tiido wrote on 2024-09-11, 09:36:

What exactly are the ingredients in the substance ?

The results do look pretty nice

https://docs.rs-online.com/d058/0900766b816864cd.pdf Link to the SDS, but the answer is here:

Yum, chemicals, 🤣

'trisodium carboxymethyl alanine'

acit to dissolve fats?

Before and after cleaning a PCI card:

looks like general purpose household cleaner, im not convinced that a good idea, i'm also not convinced washing electrical components in water is also a good idea, tho i have seen people hose down the inside of a crt.

for anyone in the UK pick up a can of electrical contact cleaner from halfords, its good for cleaning sensitive electronics like the mass air flow sensor on your car, it removes stubborn grime that runs off and it doesnt leave a residue, you can find similar products prob whatever country you're in, just dont mix it up with carb cleaner its not the same.
if not isopropyl alchohol (IPA solvent), or methylated spirits for contacts, just dont use acetone it melts certain types of plastic.

DudeFace wrote on 2024-09-14, 07:26:

looks like general purpose household cleaner, im not convinced that a good idea, i'm also not convinced washing electrical components in water is also a good idea,

Thats exactly how its done in a factory.

rasz_pl wrote on 2024-09-14, 08:05:

DudeFace wrote on 2024-09-14, 07:26:

looks like general purpose household cleaner, im not convinced that a good idea, i'm also not convinced washing electrical components in water is also a good idea,

Thats exactly how its done in a factory.

🤣 not with general purpose household cleaner and tap water, i should have been more specific, the company i used to work for building rack systems, used to clean parts with an ultrasonic cleaner with specialized cleaner for electronics that was diluted with water, de-mineralised/de-ionised water not stuff straight from the tap.

Zep sell solutions here in the uk through rs-components, this is what OP should be using.

which is the quivelent of the stuff i posted, should be something safe for electronics, that doesn't leave a film or residue, if people are given the wrong impression it could cause more harm than good to our precious components.

I simply use water with a very low percentage of substances inside and a soft brush. If it is too dirty I use soap to wash the dishes, then leave it to dry for 2/3 days and turn it on. The circuits have always come as new and in perfect working order

My preferred cleaning method for very dirty hardware is liquid hand soap (small amount) and regular tap water, with some gentle scrubbing using a soft toothbrush or paint brush.

Afterwards, I rinse everything with clean water and leave it to dry for about 3-5 days, depending on room temperature.

DudeFace wrote on 2024-09-14, 08:50:

Zep sell solutions here in the uk through rs-components, this is what OP should be using.

I haven't seen that one around here. I do a lot of service (on everything) and this Zep removes the need for carrying 15 different chemicals. I typically pack Zep AP, Deoxit Gold, and 95-99% alcohol, since I sometimes don't know what exactly I'm going to be fixing/cleaning.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2024-09-14, 09:32:

My preferred cleaning method for very dirty hardware is liquid hand soap (small amount) and regular tap water, with some gentle scrubbing using a soft toothbrush or paint brush.

Afterwards, I rinse everything with clean water and leave it to dry for about 3-5 days, depending on room temperature.

I feel like this method works really well. Some boards I've cleaned were of an unknown color up until that point.

The first motherboard I tested Zep AP on, it cleaned off residues from testing other chemicals; I was impressed and use it on boards/cards/stereo equipment, pretty much anything.(test board works now, has seen various states of function, 🤣) Gets the mold and mildew out, too. I definitely get my hands on some GROSS stuff. No-one wants to buy gross stuff, hence cheap/free.

Major Jackyl wrote on 2024-09-14, 14:15:

DudeFace wrote on 2024-09-14, 08:50:

Zep sell solutions here in the uk through rs-components, this is what OP should be using.

I haven't seen that one around here. I do a lot of service (on everything) and this Zep removes the need for carrying 15 different chemicals. I typically pack Zep AP, Deoxit Gold, and 95-99% alcohol, since I sometimes don't know what exactly I'm going to be fixing/cleaning.

each to their own i suppose, i use all purpose cleaner on my engine bay to shift grime i wouldnt use it on sensitive electronics especially rare or expensive ones, the 95-99% alchohol is definitely a much safer option as it will evaporate better than water if it gets inside anything, the deoxit is sold here in the uk, never used it but looks like its good for removing green corrosion from contacts or wires, for that i use hydrochloric acid makes it look like new, but i suppose whatever gives the best result.

DudeFace wrote on 2024-09-14, 07:26:

looks like general purpose household cleaner, im not convinced that a good idea, i'm also not convinced washing electrical compo […]
Show full quote

looks like general purpose household cleaner, im not convinced that a good idea, i'm also not convinced washing electrical components in water is also a good idea, tho i have seen people hose down the inside of a crt.

for anyone in the UK pick up a can of electrical contact cleaner from halfords, its good for cleaning sensitive electronics like the mass air flow sensor on your car, it removes stubborn grime that runs off and it doesnt leave a residue, you can find similar products prob whatever country you're in, just dont mix it up with carb cleaner its not the same.
if not isopropyl alchohol (IPA solvent), or methylated spirits for contacts, just dont use acetone it melts certain types of plastic.

The attachment Electrical Contact Cleaner.jpg is no longer available

I've only cleaned boards using IPA in trays, completely submerged but it doesn't clean really dirty boards that well, even scrubbing with a brush.
Would this be safe to spray all over a mucky motherboard, completely soaking it. I'm guessing you can't just leave it and still have to scrub all the gunk off and then wash this off with IPA.

DudeFace wrote on 2024-09-14, 07:26:

i'm also not convinced washing electrical components in water is also a good idea

As long as they aren't plugged in, it's fine. 😉

Riikcakirds wrote on 2024-09-19, 21:14:

DudeFace wrote on 2024-09-14, 07:26:

looks like general purpose household cleaner, im not convinced that a good idea, i'm also not convinced washing electrical compo […]
Show full quote

looks like general purpose household cleaner, im not convinced that a good idea, i'm also not convinced washing electrical components in water is also a good idea, tho i have seen people hose down the inside of a crt.

for anyone in the UK pick up a can of electrical contact cleaner from halfords, its good for cleaning sensitive electronics like the mass air flow sensor on your car, it removes stubborn grime that runs off and it doesnt leave a residue, you can find similar products prob whatever country you're in, just dont mix it up with carb cleaner its not the same.
if not isopropyl alchohol (IPA solvent), or methylated spirits for contacts, just dont use acetone it melts certain types of plastic.

The attachment Electrical Contact Cleaner.jpg is no longer available

I've only cleaned boards using IPA in trays, completely submerged but it doesn't clean really dirty boards that well, even scrubbing with a brush.
Would this be safe to spray all over a mucky motherboard, completely soaking it. I'm guessing you can't just leave it and still have to scrub all the gunk off and then wash this off with IPA.

I pulled a board out of the mud on the side of the road and cleaned it with this. Board worked still, which was surprising. I cleaned THIS guy last weekend.

Used only cleaner with a scrub, then hot water, finally the blow-off, using this : (https://xpower.com/shop/a-2-airrow-pro-multip … red-air-duster/)
I'm kinda putting this through some trials, too. I went right from the blow-off, to repasting and power on. Was totally soaked only 10-15 minutes before and ran it all day (installing Windows and some light gaming)

Cleaned these today:

Riikcakirds wrote on 2024-09-19, 21:14:

DudeFace wrote on 2024-09-14, 07:26:

looks like general purpose household cleaner, im not convinced that a good idea, i'm also not convinced washing electrical compo […]
Show full quote

looks like general purpose household cleaner, im not convinced that a good idea, i'm also not convinced washing electrical components in water is also a good idea, tho i have seen people hose down the inside of a crt.

for anyone in the UK pick up a can of electrical contact cleaner from halfords, its good for cleaning sensitive electronics like the mass air flow sensor on your car, it removes stubborn grime that runs off and it doesnt leave a residue, you can find similar products prob whatever country you're in, just dont mix it up with carb cleaner its not the same.
if not isopropyl alchohol (IPA solvent), or methylated spirits for contacts, just dont use acetone it melts certain types of plastic.

The attachment Electrical Contact Cleaner.jpg is no longer available

I've only cleaned boards using IPA in trays, completely submerged but it doesn't clean really dirty boards that well, even scrubbing with a brush.
Would this be safe to spray all over a mucky motherboard, completely soaking it. I'm guessing you can't just leave it and still have to scrub all the gunk off and then wash this off with IPA.

you can completely coat it with this spray no problem thats what its for, its used for cleaning all sorts of sensitive electronics like a mass air flow sensor on your car, you cant just clean them with anything as it can damage the contacts and affect the readings and screwing up the running of your car, the wires on the sensor are so delicate so you cant even touch them with your fingers let alone a brush, the only option is to completely cake it with this spray till its dripping, it usually has caked on grime, and with this spray you will see thick black grime just run off, it will have no problem removing any crud on a motherboard, it also evaporates quickly and doesnt leave a residue, its really good stuff, i highly recommend it.

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-09-19, 21:41:

DudeFace wrote on 2024-09-14, 07:26:

i'm also not convinced washing electrical components in water is also a good idea

As long as they aren't plugged in, it's fine. 😉

yeah thats the most important thing 🤣 , i'd still avoid water in anycase as there are better safer alternatives.😉

the water here is very hard and leaves marks wherever it dries - basically limescale. i saw somewhere to spray with iso-propyl alcohol after washing with water, to drive the water out.

My favourite is simply: dishwasher, no soap.

Lazy, good, fast.

Second is sink + toothbrush + Palmolive

Effort, good, slow.

If available and speed necessary/or paranoid, rinse in isoproply or methylated spirits.

Sun dry ~4hrs
Oven ~90c ~15mins+cooling
Inside air ~3 days