[rescue] Replacement for canned air?

[James]

> Anybody here used an airbrush paint compressor as a substitute for buying
> can upon can of compressed air?  I'm tired of spending $5 a can for AIR..
>
> If I can get a small, good compressor that wont put moisture in the
> line, I'd love to find one to use..
>
> Bill

Technically speaking, air should not be used to clean electronics, esp. the
older stuff that is more sensitive to static discharge. If you will use air,
it should be ionized with a special machine. The high speed air molecules
moving past stationairy insulated objects is a recipe for static buildup.

I once had a special vacuum made by Xerox (and others) called a toner vac.
It's brushes were electrically conductive and grounded for the purpose of
cleaning electronics. They show up on ebay occasionally.

The best solution I've found for really bad dirt is a dishwashing followed
by a 100% isopropyl wash followed by a good bake in the sun. The downfall is
that the isoproponyl might wash off some component identifications on older
stuff (capacitor marks, etc.). With the development of wave soldering
isoproponyl is often used on the manufacturing lines. The alcohol binds with
water and carries it away. It then evaporates fairly easily.