removing silicone from a circuit board

kurtm

Dec 13, 2010
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Dec 13, 2010
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hello all,

I have these circuit boards that I need to repair, but they are covered in a thin layer of a silicone type material.

What type of solvents or cleaners are ok for electronics? Rubbing alcohol maybe?

thanks for the help
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
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Jan 21, 2010
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Can you peel it off?

Isopropyl alcohol is normally my choice of alcohol and it is reasonably safe for most components.

Rubbing alcohol is mentioned as a great thing for cleaning up silicone caulk, but that is when it's not cured. But I'm pretty sure that silicone (if that is what it is) will not be affected by it once cured.

Also, it's almost certain that it's not a nomal silicone material that you can get a t a hardware shop. That stuff releases chemicals that will eat your components while curing (acetic acid is a weak acid, but it's still an acid). This is an issue if you want/need to replace it.

Sorry that my reply isn't really helpful.
 

Resqueline

Jul 31, 2009
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Cured silicones, whatever type, can not be removed other than by mechanical means.
Gasoline will make silicones a little jelly-like after long exposure but you don't want to expose your electronics to gasoline for days.
Do you need to remove all of it? And like steve says, if you need to replace it you'll have to use a 2-component silicone.
 
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