throbscottle
Well-Known Member
Right, if anybody is still interested. I tried PVA adhesive, with mixed results. The holes where it worked, it worked well and the solder wicked through the hole when I soldered a component in. Cleaning the glue out after completing the solder mask was a PITA though because it stuck quite well to the plating. Also because the glue shrinks it never really levelled in any of the holes, so a bit of solder mask residue still got dragged through on most. In some holes (noteably the small (by DIY standards) vias) I couldn't get the glue out. I also found the PVA glue mildly reacts with copper.
I have a very cheap and not very sticky gap-filling adhesive I might try. (151 Hard As Nails. It's not very hard and it's not like nails)
I also wondered about applying paint to the whole thing, dry, then use latex to fill the holes, then clean off the surfaces. But that's getting complicated.
Then I got to thinking about solvents. One problem I found with using acetone to clean the pads is that it's a bit too aggressive, so if the resist didn't get exposed correctly (and I'm still not sure what counts as "correct". 40 seconds on my UV box seems to work ok.). So I can end up damaging the cured (but still soft because it's just been done) resist whilst cleaning the pads. So I'm thinking, with a different solvent I should be able to give the whole thing a good soak and agitate, and the problem will just go away.
And I've just tried using white spirit to clean a single sided board. Needed too much rubbing but also didn't damage the newly cured mask. I'll try IPA next time.
I have a very cheap and not very sticky gap-filling adhesive I might try. (151 Hard As Nails. It's not very hard and it's not like nails)
I also wondered about applying paint to the whole thing, dry, then use latex to fill the holes, then clean off the surfaces. But that's getting complicated.
Then I got to thinking about solvents. One problem I found with using acetone to clean the pads is that it's a bit too aggressive, so if the resist didn't get exposed correctly (and I'm still not sure what counts as "correct". 40 seconds on my UV box seems to work ok.). So I can end up damaging the cured (but still soft because it's just been done) resist whilst cleaning the pads. So I'm thinking, with a different solvent I should be able to give the whole thing a good soak and agitate, and the problem will just go away.
And I've just tried using white spirit to clean a single sided board. Needed too much rubbing but also didn't damage the newly cured mask. I'll try IPA next time.
