A customer's simple comment made me stop using canned air on every board

I was cleaning a crusty old game console board last week, the usual routine. I blasted it with canned air first to get the big dust off before hitting it with the brush and IPA. The customer, an older guy who used to fix radios, was watching and said, 'You know, that just pushes the fine grit deeper into the connectors.' I kind of brushed it off at first, but later I found a sticky button on that same console. I took the board out again and sure enough, there was a fine layer of dust packed under a chip where the air had blown it. Now I start with a soft brush to loosen everything, then use the air pointed away from the board to clear the brush, and only use the air directly on the board for final dusting after the main clean. It adds maybe two minutes but feels much more thorough. Has anyone else switched up their cleaning order because of something like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

walker.cole1mo ago

Huh, makes you wonder what other "helpful" habits are actually causing hidden damage. That fine grit probably acts like sandpaper over time.

seanlee1mo ago

Honestly, that's how a lot of "standard practice" gets busted. Just takes one person with old-school experience to point out the flaw.

fox.derek19d ago

An old mechanic I knew swore by using a potato to clean battery terminals, and you know what? It actually worked better than half the stuff you'd buy at the auto parts store. Makes you think how much know-how gets lost when we just reach for the spray can.