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PSA: I keep seeing people use the wrong flux on BGA rework
Honestly, I've watched three different repair videos from big channels this month where they used regular rosin flux for a BGA reball, and it's a huge mistake. That stuff leaves a residue that can cause shorts under the chip if you don't clean it perfectly, especially on modern boards with tiny gaps. I only use no-clean flux like Amtech NC-559 for any BGA work now. Has anyone else found a specific brand that works better for them on dense boards?
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the_angela1mo ago
Three videos this month is wild, they must be skipping the part where they spend all night trying to fix the new shorts they made. After seeing @the_xena's honey story, I guess rosin flux is the slightly more professional version of kitchen ingredients. It's like they learn the reball process but ignore the chemistry, and that sticky mess is what kills the board for good. You can't just blast it with heat and hope for the best, the flux type is half the job.
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terry_lewis211mo ago
Wait, you saw people using rosin flux for a BGA? That's like trying to clean a window with motor oil. I had a board come in where someone did that and the residue was a sticky mess under a graphics chip. It basically glued itself to the pads. Took me two hours of cleaning with the right solvent to even see if the pads were still good. How do these channels not know this?
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Remember seeing a guy try to fix a PS4 with honey once. The board looked like a bug trap after that.
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