Serious question, am I the only one who thinks those 'no clean' flux pens are a total trap?

I was replacing a power IC on a laptop motherboard last week and used one, thinking it would save time. The residue looked clear but caused a subtle short under the BGA after a week, killing the board. Has anyone else had a board come back from a 'no clean' job?

2 comments

2 Comments

park.joseph14d ago

Man I used to swear by those pens for quick jobs. What changed your mind? After a similar failure I started cleaning every single board no matter what the bottle says, that clear film can be sneaky conductive under chips. It just isn't worth the risk anymore.

anna_grant13d ago

Seriously, how often does that actually happen though? Most of the time that clear film is just fine for hobbyist work. Feels like we're getting a bit paranoid over a few bad stories.