Can you use acetone based Nail Varnish remover to clean PCB's

[Deano]

Can an Acetone based nail polish remover be used to clean copper clad board before etching. and clean the toner off the traces etc?
I saw some in Tesco the other dat for about 70p a bottle but wasn't sure it it had other stuff in it that would be bad!

[SteveB]

It should work. Acetone & lacquer thinner are similar, but acetone will evaporate more quickly.

Steve

[Mark Hammer]

It CAN be used, but only do so in a well-ventilated space.  That stuff stinks and can cause mammoth headaches.  There are many better choices.

A sheet of cheap 400 grit sandpaper can be used to easily remove toner off the traces after etching.  Fine steel wool is even better.

[shadowmaster]

Not only cleansing but I also use acetone for removing disastrous layout toner transfer on the PCB. This way I may be able to redo the process again.

[MarcoMike]

acetone is great!! not that toxic, about the headache I guess everyone has different "tolerance" to solvents... and as I'm a chemist I guess mine is quite higher than average  but it's not chloroform or benzene we are talking about... acetone is just as dangerous as ethanol... which we all drink in 5-40% solutions
nail polish remover is just 10% acetone (plus water and other stuff), it may work, but as solvent it is really weak...

[jefe]

A quart of acetone is only 5 or 6 bucks, so I'm not sure why you'd want to use nail polish remover. Unless maybe you suddenly feel the need to remove your nail polish while cleaning some boards?

[OnLyTNT]

I suggest you to use "Mechanical Cleaner" before etching process. It creates little scratches on the surface of PCB that makes toner hold on to PCB easily. Also, it' s a better cleaner in my opinion.

Additionally, I use paint thinner after etching to remove toner. It smells horrible thou  .

[Albot]

I wouldn't use nail polish remover since it contains perfumes and oils to recondition the nails and hide the acetone smell.
Dunno about what difference some perfume would do but i guess this is the stuff you want to remove in the first place.. Oils are deffenently bad especally for toner transfer.

I use cemically pure acitone to clean PCB's before toner transfer and then steel wool after etching to remove it (to save acetone, enviroment, wife acceptance points, brain cells and so on).

[gez]

I use nail-polish remover to remove resist after etching.  Recently, I switched to a non-acetone-based product.  Works the same and, with the stuff I use, there doesn't seem to be a problem with solder adhesion or anything like that.

Paul, if you're reading this, do you still use 'Slinky Lady'?