Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

A thin polymer film (10–100 µm) applied to PCBs to protect against moisture, dust, and electrical leakage.

It improves reliability, prevents corrosion, and extends product life in harsh conditions.

Conformal coatings are widely used across many industries, including aerospace, automotive, defence, energy, medical, and industrial electronics, where they play a vital role in ensuring long-term reliability.

Coating is thin, lightweight and reworkable; potting is a thick resin mass for extreme protection.

Commonly IPC-A-610, IPC-CC-830, IEC 60664, MIL specs and customer-specific requirements.

A rating (PD1–PD4) of environmental contamination that affects insulation design and coating needs.

Liquid conformal coatings are typically applied at 25–75 µm, while Parylene is 5–25 µm. IPC-CC-830 and IPC-A-610 specify acceptable thickness ranges and require measurement on coated test coupons for verification.

They raise surface insulation resistance and reduce leakage; added capacitance is negligible at normal thicknesses.

Yes. Flux and ionic residues can cause poor adhesion, dewetting, and long-term failures.

Possibly, but many specs still mandate additional cleaning; “no-clean” residues may still impair adhesion.

It is possible to apply conformal coating over no-clean assemblies, but the process demands much tighter controls. Flux residues must be minimal and consistent, and you’ll need strict validation of cleanliness, adhesion, and long-term reliability to avoid defects.

Align to IPC cleanliness expectations (e.g., ionic contamination limits) verified by ROSE or ion chromatography.

Aqueous spray-in-air, vapour degreasing, ultrasonic, plasma—selected by contaminant type and assembly design.

ROSE testing, ion chromatography and SIR testing confirm ionic and reliability performance.

Yes—pre-coating cleaning and ionic testing offered standalone or integrated with coating services.

It adds process time/cost but typically lowers rework and field failure risk—reducing total cost of ownership.

Spraying, dipping, brushing, robotic selective coating, and vapour deposition (Parylene).

Spraying suits complex geometries; dipping gives fast, uniform coverage for high volume. Masking requirements differ for both.

A vacuum CVD process for Parylene that coats all exposed surfaces with pinhole-free films.

By solvent evaporation, heat, UV, or moisture-activated cross-linking depending on chemistry.

Surface residues lower surface energy and trigger defects like dewetting or poor adhesion.

Zahn/Ford cups or inline sensors to maintain consistent application parameters.

UV inspection & magnification for validation and root cause analysis.

Yes—selective robots improve consistency, reduce labour and control deposits precisely.

Bubbles, bridging, shadowing and uneven thickness; solved by setup, viscosity and masking optimisation.

A vacuum-deposited polymer offering uniform, pinhole-free 3D coverage with excellent barrier and dielectric properties.

By chemical vapour deposition (CVD) under vacuum, polymerising directly on surfaces.

Commonly 5–25 µm for electronics; medical/aerospace may require tighter windows.

Superior 3D coverage and barrier; higher cost and specialised equipment vs liquids.

N, C, F (and HT variants) balancing dielectric properties, moisture barrier and temperature performance.

Yes—laser/plasma/micro-abrasion enable precise local removal for access or repair.

Certain grades meet medical biocompatibility requirements and are widely used on devices/sensors.

Higher cost, longer cycle times and more complex masking compared with liquid coatings.

Dimer consumption, masking effort, load density and vacuum cycle time dominate cost.

It protects keep-out zones (connectors, test points) ensuring functional interfaces remain coating-free.

Silicone boots, tapes, dots, gels, liquid masks and custom shapes depending on geometry and process.

Often yes; inspect for wear, swelling or residue to maintain seal integrity and repeatability.

Parylene needs airtight vapour seals; liquids rely on surface barriers and careful tape selection.

Leakage under tape, adhesive residue, inconsistent coverage—solved via fixtures, boots and process control.

Use pre-formed boots/shapes, optimise takt time, and train operators on efficient removal techniques.

Bubbles, dewetting, orange peel, bridging, cracking and delamination are frequently encountered.

Low surface energy or contamination; improve cleaning, surface prep and consider adhesion promoters.

A textured finish from viscosity/spray setup/dry-time imbalance; tune solvents, flow and atomisation.

Entrapped solvents/moisture or poor application technique; adjust flash times and application parameters.

Loss of adhesion due to contamination or stress; address surface prep and primer compatibility.

Coupons/flat areas per IPC guidance, optical methods, or calibrated gauges depending on chemistry/spec.

Cross-hatch tape, pull-off and surface energy checks to validate bond strength and wetting.

UV inspection with IB100 booths, magnification/AOI and occasional destructive cross-sections.

Acrylics, polyurethanes, silicones, epoxies, UV-curables and Parylenes—selected by environment and rework needs.

Match hazards (temp, chemicals, condensate) and serviceability; test on coupons when in doubt.

Primers (e.g., silanes) that raise surface energy and bonding—vital for Parylene and low-energy substrates.

Ultra-thin hydrophobic/oleophobic layers for splash resistance/easy clean; not a full replacement for conformal protection.

Most modern chemistries are; always verify supplier declarations and MSDS for your region.

Some do—select low-outgassing materials for aerospace/space and verify with appropriate testing.

Yes—chemical stripping, laser, plasma or micro-abrasion depending on chemistry and tolerance.

Chemical strippers, abrasion/micro-blasting, plasma and laser ablation—each suits different coatings.

Not reliably—locally remove the coating before soldering to ensure a clean metallurgical bond. Use either a wet stripping process in WS100 wet stripping system or an ESD micro blast system like ProBlast 3.

Plasma, laser, micro-abrasion or targeted chemistries, chosen by area size and precision needed.

Localised defects → rework; widespread issues → strip and recoat for consistent performance.

WS100 stripping systems, micro-abrasion blasters and laser workstations are typical platforms.

With correct methods and controls, no; incorrect removal risks pad lift or solder-mask damage.

Dip tanks, spray booths, selective robots, Parylene systems and drying/curing cabinets.

Yes—integrating equipment, process setup, masking, consumables and operator training.

Yes — we supply masking boots/tapes/dots, adhesion promoters, Parylene dimers and more.

Yes—from fundamentals to advanced troubleshooting, onsite or online.

Installation, validation, spares and ongoing technical consultancy to maintain yield and quality.