[sdiy] coating PCBs? newbie question

[Ronny Lorenz]

creekree at gmx.de schrieb:

> hi!
>
> so, i made my first pcb. it was easier than i initially thought and i 
> am happy with the result.
> since uncoated copper will corrode over time i naturally want to 
> protect it.
> my local electronics store does not have any special pcb-coating (i am 
> sure such a thing exists) so i thought about alternatives.
> what about using ordinary clearcoat spraypaint? i happen to have a can 
> of that from a different project i finished earlier this year.
> any problems with painting a soldered pcb´s bottom with that?
> i´d say no, but i would like to hear opinions.
>
>
> thanks, christian
>
>
hi christian!

according to the other suggested ways of putting tin to the copper of 
the pcb, I can  tell you, that there is an other way of protecting your 
pcbs from corroding. There exists a so called "solder-stop-laminat" or 
"solder-mask", that you can laminate on the solder-side of you pcb, you 
have to expose that thing, develop and afterwards you have a 
professional looking pcb, protected against corrosion.
see one of my examples:

http://ilabws13.informatik.uni-leipzig.de/~che99dfh/pics/midi-interface_bottom_pcb.jpg

This thin film is a little bit expensive, but it protects your pcb very 
well by additional giving it a professional look ;-)
I dont know, where to buy it outside of germany, but i conclude out of 
your email-adress, that you live in germany. There are some 
online-shops, where you can buy it, the only thing that you further need 
is a laminator-machine, but this one is not so expensive at all.

Take a look at these shops (maybe there are some more, but i dont know 
them):

http://www.eltrix.de/shop.htm (category "Leiterplatten/Resiste", it is 
the soldermask you are then searching for)

http://www.radixgmbh.de/ (category "Material", you also have to search 
for the soldermask)

If you decide to do the protection with that  soldermask, i can 
additionally give you a short tutorial  on how to  work with it

greez

raumzeit