MG Chemicals - 4140-400G 4140 Flux Remover for PC Boards, 400g (14 Oz) Aerosol Can

In my career, I'd used commercial/industrial flux remover available from my job. Now that I'm retired, my 'free' source was gone :-) but I wanted to continue to do electronics. Based on the MSDS sheet, this solvent is the closest to the commercial/industrial stuff, without the acetone. With no acetone, this flux remover is, in my experience, plastic-safe. If additional 'cutting' is required, I add a splash of acetone (nail polish remover) to get the job done. Very satisfied with the performance, easy to store, no objectionable smell, and inexpensive.

Works well. Better than using alcohol. Kind of expensive for 32oz.

I am a drone builder for 5+ years now and consider myself pretty good at soldering. I started off in the early days with using the solder wire with flux included until I realized that you really need to use a flux paste as well if you want good solid solder joints. Especially when changing out components and re-soldering joints. Once you use paste it can get messy and leave residue which will degrade your components over time. When I heard about solder cleaner I thought perfect! Until you start reading. Then you realize everyone has their own opinion on what to use and how to use it. From just using spray cleaners to mixing your own alcohol with nail polish remover and distilled water. Bleh. Problem with alcohol is if you have components that have silkscreen labeling, you will remove it. And for drone building, you do not want to lose the labeling because we are constantly switching out components and who wants to search for wiring schematics on the internet especially when manufacturers change things unexpectedly so hard to tell which version you have in the first place. So here is my real world experience. Use this pen. Coat the area thoroughly, then grab an old toothbrush and clean up the flux residue. My work looks beautiful afterwords and my silkscreen labeling is intact. Love this pen. Will order more because its so much more convenient and less messy to use it then anything else Ive seen on the market. Great product!

The spray can came with a plastic straw which was supposed to fit in the nozzle. I could not get it to fit but did not matter. I found the best way to use it is to give the board several sprays then let it dry. It leaves a white powdery residue around the through hole solder connections. This is easy to remove with a toothbrush. The stuff is just organic solvents which should not leave a residue on evaporation. I wonder if they are dissolving something on the PCB board.... In any event, it seems to work OK.

The perfect solution for flux removal. Note it must be used with a brush which is not included.

This is my go to remover. Works like a charm! Big bottle will last me probably 6 months.

Bought the quart bottle (non-aerosol). I use this product in the final cleaning step after using 91% rubbing alcohol because it is expensive but works really well. As others have mentioned, brushing goes a long way towards breaking up flux and releasing it from the PCB. Best advice is to wipe away excess flux then soak the board in a shallow pan or dish for a few minutes then work at it with a brush. The goal is to save solvent and clean the board! Do this a few times before rinsing with solvent or alcohol. After the PCB dries, inspect and work on problem areas again.

Always works great on PC boards

This works flawlessly. Easy to apply, and eats through even the toughest of flux residue. I recently tried out some new solder on a test board, and this solder had some god awful quality “rosin” core. My usual 99% IPA wasn’t anywhere near strong enough to shift it. If anything, all it did was smear it in, and make an even bigger mess of the board, leaving a very sticky, grimey residue. This stuff however, cleans off the flux like it wasn’t even there in the first place. I will note, there is probably a technique to how you use this. I personally used an ESD brush, and painted it on to the PCB over the kitchen sink. I then thought it would be wise to rinse it off with some IPA. (Remember what I said about the IPA earlier?) well, the flux re-accumulated on the board, and in the kitchen sink. Leaving that horrible residue everywhere! So for my next round, I reapplied the flux remover (with the same brush) and dabbed it dry with a paper towel. This time, no mess, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a nice clean PCB afterwards. This stuff does have a little bit of a scent to it, but it’s nowhere near as pungent as my 99% IPA is. Given that most of my soldering supplies are from Amazon (flux and solder) you can’t always garuntee that they will clean off the way they say they will. In fact, most of the stuff I purchased said IPA would do the job; it didn’t. But I am certain this stuff will take care of it all! Well worth the money. And should I run out, I’d get more in a heartbeat!

Easy to use

exactly as described

Great - does what it says on the bottle

So much better than standard Isopropyl Alcohol at any strength. I have been using 99% IPA for years with my soldering, but decided I wanted to in the words of Inglorious Bastards - Go Pro. And this stuff has upped my game. IPA while doing a great clean up, cannot quite get that last bit of residue left behind. I thought it did until I started using this. Then you realise this gets you PCB spotless. Worth every penny, and will last for ages.