What do you use to coat boards to protect them?

[cdev]

I'm looking for a general purpose coating thats easy to apply and can be removed to repair stuff and solder to it again somehow if you need to.

[tautech]

Solder through PCB lacquer aerosols are the way to go.
Can't recommend a local one for you without a country identifying flag. 

[cdev]

I'm in the US.

[chriva]

How generic do you want to go and in which quantity are you planning to coat boards?


I've.. *erhm* stolen some of my missus' nail polish from time to time for use on one-off prototypes. Works surprisingly well...


If what you're doing is in any way meant for production or customer use, I'd buy the real stuff tho.
Acrylic coatings are quite easy to remove but not resistent to fuel vapors.
Silicone and Urethane are just PIA to remove so avoid those

[cdev]

Thank you for that tip, Thanks to my better half I now have some NYC "long wearing" clear nail enamel, extra shiny top coat. this looks like it should do the trick!

Wonder what its RF properties are? I guess that is likely to be important, still its likely better than leaving it for the moisture in the air to corrode.

How generic do you want to go and in which quantity are you planning to coat boards?


I've.. *erhm* stolen some of my missus' nail polish from time to time for use on one-off prototypes. Works surprisingly well...


If what you're doing is in any way meant for production or customer use, I'd buy the real stuff tho.
Acrylic coatings are quite easy to remove but not resistent to fuel vapors.
Silicone and Urethane are just PIA to remove so avoid those

[tautech]

I'm in the US.

Consider showing a US flag.

This is the stuff I use for protecting newly etched PCB's and touch up on repairs.
https://www.jaycar.us/circuit-board-lacquer-spray-can/p/NA1002

This MG product from Amazon should be quite similar:
https://www.amazon.com/MG-Chemicals-422B-340G-Silicone-Conformal/dp/B008O9YGQI

[richnormand]

This has worked well for me.

[tautech]

This has worked well for me.

Can you solder through it ?

[vk6zgo]

When I worked at the hearing aid place, when we did rework on the Cochlear stuff (the external processor, not the implanted part! ), we used a product which was sold for marine use.

It seamlessly merged with the existing coating, but unfortunately, I can't remember the name, or details.

[pickle9000]

This has worked well for me.

Can you solder through it ?

You can solder through it. It's thin on application and can glue components in place (surface mount) if they are close enough to the surface of the pcb. Hot air works as long as its not too heavy a coat.

[pickle9000]

Here is a link to MG Chem conformal coatings.

https://www.mgchemicals.com/products/conformal-coatings/

[Syntax Error]

Ad-hoc, I use Electrolube branded 'APL' acrylic protective layer. It's in a nail brush bottle and can be removed if needed with a solvent. It claims to be solderable through, but not having tried, I cannot vouch for this. Proven use in protecting the circuits of outside solar lights.

[Siwastaja]

Nothing.

Use casing to prevent dust accumulation.

If you have some specific environment in mind, specify the requirements first. It's nontrivial.

If you think you need some "general-purpose" protective coating, most likely you don't need any. If you need one, be a lot more specific.

[chriva]

RF black magic is definitely not my area of expertise so I'll be honest and say, _I DON'T KNOW_.
I'd imagine it's fine if it's only running at a couple of hundred Megahertz but don't quote me on that. Ask the real gurus just to make sure

[richnormand]

This has worked well for me.

Can you solder through it ?

Once dry, yes.

[madires]

Kontakt Chemie FLUX SK10.

[Kasper]

Here is a link to MG Chem conformal coatings.

https://www.mgchemicals.com/products/conformal-coatings/

Thats where I go too. They have a good variety and descriptions of the different types.

[cdev]

I am probably going to end up with the MG stuff, I have used their contact cleaner, tuner spray, etc.  although the shiny hardness of the nail polish has some appeal as far as verifying coverage.

Sprays I wonder if there are holes. (oh, actually, the MG chemicals spray has a "UV indicator" , so thats good)

"Contains a UV indicator for optical inspection"

Also,  I wonder what the best procedure is with boards that have corroded a bit? I have some boards that have grown green stuff (cleaned now) in high humidity areas. It was on copper that wasnt coated with anything. Once its gently cleaned off with Qtips and IPA, and dried off.

My hope being that a coating stops further corrosion! 

But I guess no after the fact treatment can't work miracles *LOL*.