On Feb 10, 2007, at 1:44 PM, Robert Young wrote:

> Kester's "331" flux is an organic core, water soluble.
> It MUST be cleaned off the board after soldering...

Ok, I think I've lost track.  Originally there was "rosin core"
solder for electronics.  Rosin is non-corrosive and need not be
cleaned off of amateur electronics, but it looks a bit ugly and
"professionals" like to remove it, which required solvents that
were either hazmat (alcohol) or destructive to the ozone layer
(TCE, Freon, etc), so the industry went off in search of new flux.

Next came the organic water-soluble fluxes (citric acid?)  They
had the advantage that you could wash them away with water, but
they gave up some of the non-corrosive properties of rosin; you
HAD to clean the boards after soldering to remove residual acid.

Now, we have the "no clean" fluxes, which apparently aren't so
compatible with each other in some sense.  I guess they're supposed
to be both inherently non-corrosive, low-leakage, and water soluble.

So what's the average hobbyist supposed to use?  Is rosin still a
good choice for general purpose electronics soldering?  Is it compatible
with the newer fluxes that are likely to be found in soldering paste?

Thanks
Bill W
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