Spray-painting PCBs

[egasimus]

I've seen some people do it, but how? I mean, spray paint is dissolved by acetone, although I haven't tried isopropyl alcohol...

[egasimus]

Tried it, and, sure enough, isopropyl does a MUCH worse job at dissolving the grey car primer I tried than acetone. I've read, however, that it's stronger than ethyl or methyl alcohol, so maybe that's the way to go? Scrub the PCB a little bit with some steel wool to expose the toner, then pour on the alcohol. Gonna try it next time I etch a board.

[Barcode80]

are you talking about spray painting after etching or before?

[egasimus]

After

[Barcode80]

I guess what confused me was you are talking about stripping paint in the second post, so I'm not following you.

[jbgron]

This should solve all problems, works great for me.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Your-Own-Multi-Colour-PCB/

[tyronethebig]

Neat!

[egasimus]

I guess what confused me was you are talking about stripping paint in the second post, so I'm not following you.

Well, the way I imagined things is, spraying the board after etching before removing the toner. I was looking for a way to do that without actually removing the paint, too.

[egasimus]

Just tried the sharpie approach. First tried it out with a Bic permanent marker, and the acetone wiped it all off. Then, I tried a no-name sharpie from the dollar store, and, sure enough, it did work quite well. I'll carry on with my spray paint experiments though.

[Barcode80]

I guess what confused me was you are talking about stripping paint in the second post, so I'm not following you.

Well, the way I imagined things is, spraying the board after etching before removing the toner. I was looking for a way to do that without actually removing the paint, too.

I paint boards when I use them for lettering (etching faceplates for pedals gives a permanent surable graphic), and i just etch the board, remove the toner, paint the whole tihng, then sand. No need for acetone or anything, fine grit sandpaper will take off the paint on the copper areas without touching the etched areas. just make sure to use a sanding block (not the spongy ones, a REAL sanding block, like a piece of 2x4 or something). If you use the pre-made sanding spong things, they will mush down into the etched areas and take off paint. Here are some face plates i have done using this technique.

[Paul Marossy]

I guess what confused me was you are talking about stripping paint in the second post, so I'm not following you.

Well, the way I imagined things is, spraying the board after etching before removing the toner. I was looking for a way to do that without actually removing the paint, too.

I paint boards when I use them for lettering (etching faceplates for pedals gives a permanent surable graphic), and i just etch the board, remove the toner, paint the whole tihng, then sand. No need for acetone or anything, fine grit sandpaper will take off the paint on the copper areas without touching the etched areas. just make sure to use a sanding block (not the spongy ones, a REAL sanding block, like a piece of 2x4 or something). If you use the pre-made sanding spong things, they will mush down into the etched areas and take off paint. Here are some face plates i have done using this technique.

Those look really cool! 

[John Lyons]

Yeah, those look great Patrick! Nice work.

[Barcode80]

 

thanks guys!

[egasimus]

Yeah, those are great indeed I just might try and make one myself, what with PCB stock being cheap enough round here that I can build enclosures out of it (tried once and it came out pretty sturdy, couldn't find a good way to mount the lid though)

[Beo]

Patrick, do you clearcoat those faceplates, or leave them bare metal? Copper clad seems to scratch up pretty easy, and I'm wondering if clearcoat will hold up okay?

[Barcode80]

Patrick, do you clearcoat those faceplates, or leave them bare metal? Copper clad seems to scratch up pretty easy, and I'm wondering if clearcoat will hold up okay?

I clear coat them, but less because of scratching and more because if you leave them bare, it only takes about 24 hours for spots to start tarnishing.

[Beo]

I clear coat them, but less because of scratching and more because if you leave them bare, it only takes about 24 hours for spots to start tarnishing.

Makes sense. What do you use for cutting your boards? I'm thinking of trying a wet tile saw. Also, do you file the round corners manually or have some other method?

[Barcode80]

I clear coat them, but less because of scratching and more because if you leave them bare, it only takes about 24 hours for spots to start tarnishing.

Makes sense. What do you use for cutting your boards? I'm thinking of trying a wet tile saw. Also, do you file the round corners manually or have some other method?

i use a dremel with a reinforced cutting wheel, and cut them by hand that way. i cut them within about 3 or 4 mils of the edges, then file the edges down (including the round corners) by hand with sandpaper

[Barcode80]

In case anyone is curious, here is how one of them turned out...

[egasimus]

That's some great faceplates

Meanwhile, I keep on experimenting with sharpies and clearcoat. However, neither seems to interact too well with the solvents which I use for cleaning rosin off my boards, namely acetone and isopropyl alcohol.