PCB protecter? Waterproofing? How to service?

[scampo77]

I have a circuit board that seems to be cast in nylon? Rubber? Polyester? It's a controller for a transmission. I have seen this in controllers for aviation and generators, more industrial applications and it's usually pretty hard kind of like plastic. For the first time, this compound seems gummy, all most like rubber I can pick at it and slowly remove pieces. Does anyone know if there is a chemical or heat process to remove this stuff? I need to service this board.

Any idea how to remove? or re apply this stuff? Or any idea where I can find out more about it?

[stj]

Re: PCB protecter? Waterproofing? How to service?

depends on what it is.
if it's rubber then you need to scrape it,
if it's plastic then you can usually remove it with white spirit,
if it's epoxy then it's a bitch to remove and you need to use the end of the soldering iron.

[scampo77]

Re: PCB protecter? Waterproofing? How to service?

How can I definitively determine what I have? Is there a wiki page somewhere? Or photos? Or a test I can perform?

[stj]

Re: PCB protecter? Waterproofing? How to service?

see how it reacts to heat from a soldering iron.

epoxy will soften slightly,
plastics will melt & burn,
rubber will do nothing really.