From: "Marvin Johnston" <marvin at rain.org> When cleaning PC Boards that have had battery leakage, I always use Muriatic Acid (about 33% Hydrochloric Acid) also known as pool acid for adjusting pool pH. When I still owned the Printed Circuit shop, I would use something called Solder Brite to remove the oxidation on the boards after etching and prior to reflow. If you have a PC shop close by, you might stop by and see if they would give you a couple of ounces to try. IIRC, Solder Brite was basically Muriatic acid with some additives. BTW, when I am cleaning up the crud on PC boards, I only use a couple of *drops* of Muriatic acid and I would guess that Solder Brite could be used the same way. Once it stops foaming, I am done :). > But is there some magic chemical or mechanical means that will render > the existing cruddy PC board solderable so I can replace these flaky > sockets? > > Tim.