Paint on Insulation

Other Hardware General Electronics
1

Hi everyone,
I'm about to build out a bunch of these:

They're built off of these:

There is one wire that will join the negative line back to Vo by spanning across multiple lines, but only getting soldered at lines 2, 4, and 7 (reading left to right). To avoid short-circuiting the line on the other ones it'll pass over, can I "paint" something onto the other foil areas just below the wire that I'll run. I know there's liquid insulation out there, but I don't need a ton of the stuff, so I'm wondering if there's other household options. I have acrylic hobby paints, latex wall paint handy... would those work?

If it matters, source power is 12v, about 1.5amps.

Cheers,
Peter

2

I would get my Dremel out and cut the traces out like this and solder a straight piece of wire across the 3 pins you want connected.

But that's just me. :slight_smile:

surfboard.jpg

3

If you go with paint, I'd stick to latex paint. Don't want to use something that flammable.

You could also use heat shrink tubing (in addition to paint maybe?) on the part of the wire that should not contact.

4

The cool high-tech solution is clear ( silicone?) gel that hardens in 20 seconds under ultraviolet. Used for circuit board repairs etc.

Anyone know an online source??

Maybe a use for my old EPROM eraser...

5

My vote is for hot melt glue to encase it all to stop it shorting out.

6

Regular silione or caulk works for me, just pump some on it while the wires not touching and a day later its dry and depending what you get soft and flexible but very protective

7

Interesting concept of blobbing the whole circuit in silicone or hot glue... never would have thought of that!

Thanks for the responses so far!

8

Depending on what you want your finished product to look like, you could make say a square mold around the components as well and pump it full of silicone which would prevent any of those long leads from accidently touching and a cool plug in cube is always pretty nice looking lol

9

Just a follow up on an old thread, in case future searchers stumble across it. In the end, I tested some hobby/home paints, and wasn't happy with easily they rubbed off the surface.

Rokkit had a great idea too.

In the end though, drilled through the PCB with a micro-bit, and ran the wire along the back of the board, which is blank. A quick hit of solder on the front side, and everything is connected. Definitely not the first time this has been done, I'm sure, but it felt like a genius moment for me!

Thanks again to everyone for their hints and tips.

10

Some silicon caulks (non-electronic kinds) outgas something corrosive (acetic acid, etc) as part of the curing process.

I've used hot glue for a quick hack. I've also used liquid electrical tape - comes in a can with a brush built into the lid.

-j