How to: Clean Aluminum from Oils and Proteins

Q. We’re looking for an aluminum safe cleaner for removing thin films of oils and proteins from a circuit board.

A. Often the safest way to clean aluminum is with an acidic detergent.  We recommend using Citranox® Liquid Acid Cleaner and Detergent as an aluminum safe cleaner to remove thin films of oils and proteins from a circuit board which has aluminum containing elements in addition to any standard circuit board components.

1. Use a warm 2% (20 mL/L) solution of Citranox for 20 min in ultrasonics
2. Follow with a thorough DI water rinse and high purity IPA (isopropyl alcohol) dry

If a low foaming detergent is required due to it being cleaning in a spray cabinet, or similar, we would go with Citrajet® Low-Foam Liquid Acid Cleaner/Rinse at a similar 2% concentration.

If the oil or protein, is not “thin” or otherwise minimal in its relative amount, we may require a more alkaline and/or protein enzyme containing detergent such as Liquinox® Critical Cleaning Liquid Detergent or Tergazyme® Enzyme-Active Powdered Detergent to clean aluminum circuit boards.  Recall that alkaline detergents are better for organic residues, and Tergazyme detergent is enhanced with protein enzymes.

We are happy to discuss the specifics any time!

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