Silicone Conformal Coating

Silicone-based circuit board lacquers (conformal coatings) are basically divided into two different versions - elastic or plastic. This depends on the type of surface you want on your paint. The plastic gives, as it sounds, a slightly harder plastic surface, while the elastic gives a more traditional rubber feel. Several types contain solvents that leave before polymerization, while the slightly newer versions do not contain any solvents. The silicones provide very good moisture protection and are flexible in a very wide temperature range. Most of the time, these lacquers contain a UV fluorescence that makes it possible to detect that there really is lacquer on the desired parts or the entire card. As LEDs today are often mounted on the board, there are also varnishes that do not contain this UV indicator, as there may otherwise be a risk of an unwanted "color change".