How To Clean PCBs After Soldering

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Reminder: trim your component leads before cleaning the board. Clip the exposed lead at the top of the solder cone. If you can see the tips of the leads poking up like little needles, then this cleaning technique will not work very well, and you might injure yourself while scrubbing.

Here's an additional tip from John Whitmer: if some of your solder joints remain sharp after trimming, gently round the sharp points with a small jeweler's file.

By the way, the inspection process is not just to see if the board is clean, but also to confirm that the solder joints are all good. It's much easier to spot a bad joint after cleaning the flux residue off. Don't skimp on this step; it will save a lot of hassle later in the build process.

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