02-19-2015, 11:20 AM
Well, just to remind, we are talking of conformal coating.
It is not a caulk, it is not a bulk gooey stuff, it is not a sealant in a tube that one applies as a bead, it is a sprayed or brushed fairly quick drying substance to form a film. And it is intended to be used on electronics, namely on PCBs with copper conductors. So, silicone or not, it is inherently safe for most everything that is on the board or board itself, and all that contains copper.
There are always some components that require special treatment, like say Vicor power supplies explicitly warn against aqueous wash etc etc, so if there is a component is sensitive to conformal coating, or to a particular kind of it, it will be listed in its datasheet explicitly and conspicuously. What's more, the coating itself then would likely state "do not apply to copper parts" on the packaging label.
The key to safe and effective usage is using products according to their intended usage and observing labels/datasheets.
Granted we all sometimes have to use things off-label, then it is warranted that one does some research prior to doing this.
It is not a caulk, it is not a bulk gooey stuff, it is not a sealant in a tube that one applies as a bead, it is a sprayed or brushed fairly quick drying substance to form a film. And it is intended to be used on electronics, namely on PCBs with copper conductors. So, silicone or not, it is inherently safe for most everything that is on the board or board itself, and all that contains copper.
There are always some components that require special treatment, like say Vicor power supplies explicitly warn against aqueous wash etc etc, so if there is a component is sensitive to conformal coating, or to a particular kind of it, it will be listed in its datasheet explicitly and conspicuously. What's more, the coating itself then would likely state "do not apply to copper parts" on the packaging label.
The key to safe and effective usage is using products according to their intended usage and observing labels/datasheets.
Granted we all sometimes have to use things off-label, then it is warranted that one does some research prior to doing this.
People who do not drink, do not smoke, do not eat red meat will one day feel really stupid lying there and dying from nothing.