I think Alistair's idea is brilliant!
However, it has to be interpreted in context ...!
Component leads are tinned and, over time, the coating becomes contaminated due to reaction with the atmosphere ...
This is
not a new phenomenon - I recall RS ½W resistors half a century ago that gained blackened leads very quickly just sitting in a drawer waiting to be used ...
Scraping the leads with many of the tools mentioned earlier in this thread
will remove (some of) the contamination but with some provisos ...
The first, and most obvious one, is that they will only remove the contamination at the point of contact which, if it is a straight edged tool against a circular component, will be a very thin line. Increasing the pressure will result in a wider line but only at the expense of the tinned coating which will also be removed. Ultimately, the 'clean' line will be even wider but with the result of
all of the coating being removed - usually accompanied by a slice off the base material, too ...
Note that I am
not saying that such methods are wrong - suitable soldering methods will easily restore any surface damage
and remove any remaining contamination - but that does not necessarily mean that they are an ideal solution ...
Alistair's idea is a simple and effective solution to a problem. I doubt it will remove the glue traces from bandoliered components effectively though, without getting clogged very quickly. A wipe with a suitable solvent soaked rag with resolve
that problem very easily but, ask yourself
this question ...
How often do you actually use the the extremities of the lead-out wires of a bandoliered component ...
Thought not - so why not cut the sticky bits of the ends and use Alistair's gizmo on the rest ...?
