Homebrew PCBs

soffee83 wrote:

>Does this sound acceptable, and if so, is there a preferred "over the 
>counter" spray? I'm not much of a perfectionist at my circuit building 
>level right now, and the stuff I've been doing probably wouldn't be 
>drastically affected by a less-than-perfect electrical resistance in 
>most areas. I'd mainly like to preserve the pretty gold. :)
>
>                                -Take Care
>  
>

  Conformal coating is the stuff that's used for commercial protection 
of PCBs.  But $15-25 per can, so a lot more than regular paint.  Still 
smells like complete crap when you solder through it too.  I seem to 
recall mention of a solder through type, that wasn't so bad for rework, 
but it's been a long time and I have no specifics since I never used it.

  Paints/laquer etc may absorb moisture, and may become conductive etc 
over time.  Long as your stuff isn't too critical, it shouldn't matter 
much.  I've painted more than a few boards with just straight black 
paint to cover them up, and no real ill effects, but no high gain amps 
etc either..  Maybe test your paint though, some are noticably more 
conductive than others right out of the can.

Alan