DIY Solder Mask Idea

[fuzzmonger]

So, I'm a pretty messy solder-er when it comes to PCBs (the fact I like making all my boards as tiny as possible and hand-draw the etch-resists doesn't help), so I've been looking into solder masking - and realised it takes a lot more equipment, money and f*cks than I have to give.

A potential solution (bodge) I've dreamed up is to use a Sharpie, or more likely, a Dalo pen as a solder mask. Can anyone verify it the ink would resist solder (all out of copper-clad board at the moment, myself)? Dalo dries pretty thick and solid so I figured it'd have a good shot at working. The Sharpie.. probably won't work, but they do come in prettier colours

Feel free to proclaim me a genius if it works or, alternately, curse my name for wasting your ink if it fails.

Cheers, fellow tinkerers
-Fuzzmonger

[Mark Hammer]

It tends to go up in a puff of smoke.  It certainly resists etchant, but high heat not so much.

[davent]

People have used various tints of clear lacquer to give their boards a good looking "cosmetic" solder mask but the big appeal of lacquer is you spray it on to cover the board, no masking or special procedures, then solder through it, gone with the application of heat to the pads.

[fuzzmonger]

Well that is a shame. Not too bothered about how a PCB looks, tbh, I only inquired for practical purposes. I suppose tinning the traces might be another way to reduce the occurrence of lumpen solder joints bridging, right?

-Fuzzmonger

Ps, I'm very ashamed of myself but I feel I must admit to being slightly 'starstruck' when I saw that The Mark Hammer had replied to a post of mine 

[davent]

The best "way to reduce the occurrence of lumpen solder joints bridging' is to use less solder and an appropriately sized solder tip and like everything else... practice , practice and more practice.

[fuzzmonger]

True, true. I'm pretty awesome with guitar work and lead-to-lead perfboard stuff but PCBs are proving to be a different beast altogether. I recently upgraded from 'whatever's less than a tenner' to a nice Antex soldering iron which has a flat, angled tip, as supposed to the pointed- and chisel-tip points I've used previously. Which one's best for such work?

-Fuzzmonger

[pinkjimiphoton]

oh, mark's ok....once ya get used to him.

just kidding...i've been gob-smacked here a few times. welcome to the forum!

[PRR]

> 'starstruck' when I saw that The Mark Hammer had replied to a post of mine

Nah. How do ya think he got 19 thousand posts? He'll give good advice to ANYbody.

Yes, DIP soldering is like finger-picking. Use a non-crappy pick (or iron) and practice-practice-practice.

[Perrow]

And drill as small holes as you can, had to use too big a drill on my last board (next project is a drill stand so maybe I can stop breaking a drill per board) and had one hell of a time soldering in a way that didn't look like my son (six y/o) had done it.

Nah. How do ya think he got 19 thousand posts? He'll give good advice to ANYbody.

He's not alone, I've even seen you answer a question or two

[Ice-9]

You could get yourself a flux pen which you then scribble all over the pcb before starting to solder the PCB. This will help the solder to flow instead of lumping.

This is the type of pen i mean  http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/soldering-consumables/4259379/

[iccaros]

I like the lacquer ideal, but I stole an Ideal from R.G.  use round stickers over the ares I want to solder. Then spray lacquer and let dry a little before removing dots then let dry completely.

[davent]

With lacquer there's no need to mask anything off, apply the soldering iron to the pad and the lacquer vaporizes. I use clear lacquer all the time, clean the photoresist off and spray the board, prevents the copper from oxidizing and actually makes it easier to solder when that time eventually rolls around. Works better then using Liquid Tin.

dave

[Gurner]

With lacquer there's no need to mask anything off, apply the soldering iron to the pad and the lacquer vaporizes. I use clear lacquer all the time, clean the photoresist off and spray the board, prevents the copper from oxidizing and actually makes it easier to solder when that time eventually rolls around. Works better then using Liquid Tin.

dave

the aesthetic of a self made PCB is the bane of my life! What I've settled on(for now!)  is far from ideal...but appears to the least worst option -  I wire wool my pcb (to make the copper nice & shiny) & then spray with electrolube sk10. This isn't a solder mask as such (so doesn't help solve the 'soldermask for the kitchen' conundrum), it's like a lacquer that as dave says evaporates when soldered....so that rules it out as a solder mask. I still don't like the stuff...it never seems to set hard, meaning a careless thumbprint even a few days later will leave it's mark (which incidentally makes me go purple & cover my bench with spit...I then adopt a character like Michael Douglas in 'Falling Down') - but at least it stops the copper tarnishing, which is to be avoided cos tarnishing is really ugly on a pcb.

[Jdansti]

Coming up with a solder mask that works will probably be more trouble than tweaking your technique and gear.

What works for me is a little dab of flux on each pad and component lead with a flux pen, using Pb/Sn solder (no silver), and using a clean small screwdriver tip on my iron. The flux helps the solder to evenly coat the copper pads and helps prevent bridges. I use one of those metallic Brillo Pad looking deals to clean the iron tip as I go, but a damp sponge or paper towel works too. Of course, you still have to properly heat the pad and lead, and properly apply the solder (easy for me to say since I've been doing it since I was 6 ).

If you haven't had anyone to teach you, then you're kinda flying by the seat of your pants.   Here's a really good video on soldering. You might be able to discover exactly what you need to change to be a pro.

[Mike Burgundy]

There's also flux laquer. Comes in a spraycan, works just like laquer, seals the board/traces but actually helps soldering just like flux does. Now if I could only get it in green...

[Ice-9]

One of the best soldermasks and protection from the copper oxidising is actually the photoresist. If you use uv to expose your pcb's then once etched do not remove the photo resist from the pcb. It protects the copper from oxidisation but also does not hinder the soldering of components, (similar in a way to some of the posters are saying clear coat or laquer the pcb).