Homebrew PCBs

My opinion is you should use plain old colophony resin flux. It
doesn't need cleaning in most circumstances and is very cheap and
reliable. And since it is a tree resin, it ought to be environmentally
friendly. You can dissolve it in a little methylated spirits for easy
application.

But you don't necessarily need flux for SMD work any more than for
throughhole work. I rarely use mine for SMD, mostly for tinning wires
and stuff. Solder wire or paste contains enough flux as it is. Only if
I change components very often using hot air and no fresh solder I add
flux.

ST

On Wed, Jul 7, 2010 at 8:11 PM,  <toftat@...> wrote:
> OK folks, I have decided to take the plunge into building PCB's with SMD
> components. I have been putting this off for about 3 years now, but the
> availability of new parts in through hole configurations is undeniably
> reducing.
>
> Having watched many youtube videos, it seems the most important part of
> the process is the flux, however, having never bought flux outside of flux
> cored solder, I am at a loss for what I should be looking for in a flux.
> It appears that while no-clean flux has the appeal of not needing a clean
> up step, activated solder is easier to use. Should I be looking at a
> liquid or paste flux?
>
> I realize that there are probably as many opinions about this as there are
> list members, but I would like to draw on the experience of the group and
> hear suggestions...
>
> Thanks
>
> Anthony
>
>
>
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