Techniques for applying conformal coating

[SimonHa]

I'm not an electronics person so this might be a simple question. I have a Hobbyboards relay board and, with various other bits 'n bobs, I'm wondering if I need to apply something to protect the circuit/components from damp/corrosion (as mentioned by Wookey in another post). I did look into conformal coatings a few weeks ago but the chemicals/process (baking in an oven) looked a bit scary.

Does anyone have any advice about and experience of a suitable technique for these kind of hobby projects? E.g. some kind of spray-on varnish.

Simon

[Billy]

Hi Si,

we live on a boat and have various home made electrical devices.  i normally pot them in epoxy resin to attempt to defeat the damp and salty air.  Personally use West Epoxy but I guess any will do.

billy
 

[EccentricAnomaly]

These devices have (or had) a conformal coating (at least the model 'D' shown in red there). "W" applied it (I'm "E", neither of us is involved in the business much this century). I'm pretty sure there was no baking involved - it was just sprayed on from an aerosol can as I recall.

Something like this I think. Rapid are a pretty solid outfit; slightly less heavyweight than Farnell or RS but in that general area. Somewhat less of a toyshop than Maplin.

[SimonHa]

Thank you Billy & EccentricAnomaly for your replies.

I think potting in epoxy might be a little extreme for me (we're 25 miles from the coast), but the Ambersil acrylic spray is just the sort of thing I was looking for. One of the boards has been in boiler room for a year so might be a bit damp/dusty - do you know if I should try and clean/degrease it first and, if so, how? (I've also got a solar/temp sensor from Hobbyboards to put on my roof too but that is brand new)

[wookey]

You can get bake-on stuff, but I just use the spray-on stuff and its worked fine.

There are several sorts: (HPA, polyurethane, acrylic)
http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/search/browse.jsp?N=411+2005+208444&Ntk=gensearch&Ntt=conformal&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial

I've used the HPA stuff. I do not have a good handle on the pros/cons of the various types.