Cleaning an Amiga 500+ PCB
Summary
The Varta battery had begun to leak and there were some minor signs of corrosion. This process was to remove that corrosion and give the board a good cleaning using Isopropyl Alcohol.
Steps
A reminder of where the corrosion was present in relation to the Varta battery.
The first stage was to remove the PCB from the metal tray by removing all the hex nuts from the IO ports on the back of the PCB.
Wherever there was green corrosion, a child’s toothbrush dipped in white vinegar was used to scrub it clean. The vinegar neutralises the alkali from the Varta battery.
An excess vinegar was dabbed off using kitchen roll.
A liberal dose of Isopropyl Alcohol was sprayed on the board and a 25mm paint brush was used to work it into all the gaps.
This was repeated on the rear of the PCB as well.
The board was propped up and left to dry / the alcohol to evaporate.
Conclusion
It doesn’t look like all of the corrosion has been removed, but it is significantly improved and only the tiniest amount is now visible. The PCB itself looks almost new.
Next Steps
After removing the metal tray, there were some obvious signs of rust. This should be removed and possibly resprayed
