General > General Technical Chat

paint for repairing solder mask

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vivi-d:
Hi, I do occasional PCB repair at my current workplace. We have some tools and processes in place, but there is always room for improvement. I've, in a sense, inherited this task...

What I'm really looking for is something less messy than UV cured solder mask. The stuff we have now just oozes everywhere and is a pain in the butt to work with. Would it violate IPC (or form, fit, function) to use something more like paint? Such as what is used to paint miniatures for WarHammer?

Please share your thoughts!  :)

Microdoser:
I have read that enamel paint like you would paint miniatures with, has a high electrical resistance. I have been told to cover bare solder points on high voltage LED strips with it to stop shocks if you handle it when live.

I do not know whether it would resist solder though and I suspect it would not look as good as solder mask paint designed for the job.

Fgrir:
I've used these in the past with good results:

https://www.chemtronics.com/circuitworks-overcoat-pens

I've also used clear acrylic nail polish in a pinch, but not sure I'd use that professionally.

vivi-d:
I've tried the overcoat pens, but they always seem kind of runny. I think I'll experiment with the enamel based miniature paint. I just want to brush it onto the PCB using a microscope. That way I'll have more control.

ajb:
You can also get UV-cure solder mask in syringe cartridges that should be fairly close to the sort of material that's used during normal manufacture.  I bought some cheap stuff on amazon a while ago just to have on hand in that style but haven't used it much.  Amusingly it included a "UV" flashlight which was just a bog standard white LED job that obviously didn't do shit to cure the mask material, but fortunately I have other UV lights on hand that will do the job.

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