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  • Author Author: ntewinkel
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Nail Polish Short-proofing?

ntewinkel

Hi all,

 

I just kind of randomly came across a thread discussing using nail polish to cover electrical connections to avoid shorts, especially for the backs of home made PCBs.

There are commercially available "conformal coatings" you can use, but they are somewhat more pricey, and I guess a fair bit more boring image

 

So I went to the dollar store yesterday and picked me up some of this!

image

 

Only $1.50 (Canadian dollars even!)

I was thinking I might use it on a past or future PCB to coat the back.

 

This is the first time I've ever bought nail polish, which I think explains the conservative colours image

It says "Kozmic Colours", so just imagine the variety available! I thought I'd avoid the sparkly ones though, as I wasn't sure if that might be conductive.

 

Then today I soldered a light resistor onto some wires, and then wished I had remembered to put on some heat shrink tubes. The shrink tubes were aaaalll the way in the workshop and I was being lazy image

Then I realized I could probably use the nail polish for this!

imageimage

 

It looks like it does the trick - as you can see in the pictures, it has fully coated the exposed wires. It's easier than dealing with heat shrink tubing, and can be added as an afterthought. It's not as rugged as heat shrink tubing, but for many of these smaller light-duty cases it's perfect.

 

Next time - red and black!

 

Cheers,

-Nico

 

edit: I just did a quick resistance test, and I can clip the test leads right beside each other on a (coated) pin of the sensor with full resistance.

Parents

  • Hi Nico,

     

    I would be interested in learning more about its insulation value. I am sure you could increase the insulation value by putting multiple coats on it. If smell is any indication it should be pretty good as it smells just like the spray we used to use on TVs to eliminate corona in the high voltage sections. I too use the dollar store version to touch up solder connections on sterilizer circuit boards as they operate in a moist environment. I also like that I can buy colors like the green and black

    which blend in with the existing coatings. I just finished working on a board this evening and used some green to seal the solder pad.

     

    image

     

    This is a design problem with a main control board where the fuse clips are under rated for the current and they eventually over heat and carbonize the circuit board. By the time I get them the solder pad itself is loose and sitting on blackened circuit board. the blacken board is cut out and a new piece of resin inserted. I replace the clips with 30A rated instead of the original 15A and I use solder braid that goes through the circuit board and around the base of the fuse clip and then back to the rail under power.

     

    John

Comment

  • Hi Nico,

     

    I would be interested in learning more about its insulation value. I am sure you could increase the insulation value by putting multiple coats on it. If smell is any indication it should be pretty good as it smells just like the spray we used to use on TVs to eliminate corona in the high voltage sections. I too use the dollar store version to touch up solder connections on sterilizer circuit boards as they operate in a moist environment. I also like that I can buy colors like the green and black

    which blend in with the existing coatings. I just finished working on a board this evening and used some green to seal the solder pad.

     

    image

     

    This is a design problem with a main control board where the fuse clips are under rated for the current and they eventually over heat and carbonize the circuit board. By the time I get them the solder pad itself is loose and sitting on blackened circuit board. the blacken board is cut out and a new piece of resin inserted. I replace the clips with 30A rated instead of the original 15A and I use solder braid that goes through the circuit board and around the base of the fuse clip and then back to the rail under power.

     

    John

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