I’m joining the split keyboard group by building a piantor. I have the pcbs already and they’re lead free coated and I will use lead free solder on the components.
I’m a bit worried though as I used a borrowed split and I noticed I keep touching the soldering in the microcontroller quite a bit and the build I was going for was a bare one where we just put rubber feet directly in the pcb so there’s no case or anything.
I tend to rub my eyes and bite my nails quite a bit during the day. I was wondering if it’s safe enough on lead free solder or if this is something I should completely avoid.
Any suggestions in case I should avoid it entirely. I reckon the worst place would be the top of the pcb maybe I can use some hot glue where the solder is but I have no idea if it’s hard to pull it off later if I need to review/resolder.
This is my first project and I haven’t done anything like this before, so even the flux I’m kind of unaware how to clean, solder comes with it right, do I need to wipe it somehow or use isopropyl alcohol and wipe with maybe a paper towel?
Sorry about being a complete noob. I searched around but most people are concerned about the lead solder not lead free like me.
The problem with flux is that it is corrosive. If you use just the flux in the solder it shouldn’t be much of a deal, but if you use more flux I recommend washing it off.
I use 99.9% Isopropanol or an ultrasonic cleaner with water for this. If you use water do not use soap or anything else just water. Also make sure it is completely dry before connecting to power.
Oh. Thanks. I’ll use the flux in the solder only. I’m quite a noob at that so I just got the soldering iron and the solder. I will see about getting the alcohol and use a toothbrush to clean it off after.