Homebrew PCBs

On Wed, 5 Nov 2008, Herbert E. Plett wrote:

> --- On Wed, 11/5/08, Brian <blue_eagle74@...> wrote:
> ...
> > My problem now is that when I soak it in water for 15 or so
> > minutes I
> > have parts of the traces not sticking to the board. I used
...
> a 'good' polish remover is a 'bad' chemical for cleaning. it is enough
> (and good) to only scrub the board with *abrasive* kitchen cleaner

Abrasion is the key. Personally, I use soapy water and fine grit wet+dry
paper to clean the board prior to ironing. The soapy water helps to
prevent any finger grease getting on the board and the abrasive paper
cleans it up well, and it also textures the copper a little which probably
helps toner adhesion. I don't use any volatile chemicals at any stage
(after etching, I use the same piece of wet-and-dry to remove the toner).

Toner adhesion is also affected by iron termperature - the iron should be
hot enough to discolour the paper. I experimented with different iron
temperatures and my results were that the toner reliably stuck only when
the iron was at the highest temperature.