Homebrew PCBs

Alan,

I use a mixture of 1:1 Acetone and Denatured Alcohol.  Both from Home 
Depot. Both are inexpensive. Skip the grain alcohol, except for 
celebrating your results. I run a film of the mixture onto the board, 
and then put the artwork down onto the wet film. I let it sit for about 
20 seconds and then press down. While I am waiting the 20 seconds, I 
flood the top of the artwork with more of the mixture. At that point I 
run a brayer over the board in the x and y directions for about a 
minute. By that time, the board is usually pretty dry. When it is 
completely dry, I drop it into the sink with some water, and let it sit 
for about 15-20 minutes. I peel off what ever peels off, and then rub 
the rest off with my fingers. The paper I use is the shiny, but not 
coated brochure paper. I tried to use some form the Viking River cruises 
catalogs we get once a week, but the paper was too thin for my printer. 
The purpose of the brayer is to improve adhesion, especially at the 
edges of the pattern. I bought a 6 inch one on ebay for a few dollars. I 
was floored that first time I tried it this way. I had had success 
without the brayer, but always had issues at the edges of the artwork.

Harvey
On 10/4/2016 4:46 PM, alan00463@... [Homebrew_PCBs] wrote:
>
>  Tried the "cold toner transfer" process today using what I had
> at home, acetone and 80-proof vodka (40% alcohol by volume) for my 
> solvent.
> Printed the PCB artwork on standard, white, office paper using my HP 
> Laserjet. Using the 8:3 mix and didn't get any transfer to the copper.
>
> So I dabbed the solvent onto the other toner patterns on the paper
> and let it set half an hour before I tried rubbing it off again.   
> Still wouldn't lift off the paper. D'OH!   I forgot to print it  onto 
> something slippery. So I printed four patterns on Oracal 651 vinyl for 
> another go at it.
>
> Did everything according to the video, but the part where the paper 
> and plastic are supposed to peel off the board, leaving the toner 
> still sticking, failed miserably.
>
> So I added another capful of acetone to the bottle, put the cap back 
> on and shook it up,  and tried again.  No results.
>
> I repeated the above two sentences about three more times.   Still the 
> toner did not detach from the Oracal.  So I let put a few drops of 
> solvent onto a different piece of Oracal with a toner pattern printed 
> on it, and let it sit about half an hour.
> Then I could rub the toner off with my thumb, but it took a good bit 
> of pressure to lift the toner from the plastic.
>
> This was my first try to use the  "heatless" toner transfer.   I think
> I'll buy some 100% ethanol (grain alcohol) and try again later in the
> week, unless somebody has a better idea.
>
>
>