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Solvents and Dilution: Pro Tip #4


PVA Pro Tip #4: Coating With Consistency

How to Best Utilize Thinners When Working with Solvents

To process solvent based conformal coatings, a thinner is typically added to the base coating to lower the viscosity or slow down the cure rate. This dilution enables an atomized spray head to apply the coating with a clean and consistent spray pattern. It can also prevent premature curing or clogging of the spray tip. Insufficient dilution can lead to poor spray quality and trapped bubbles. Too much dilution can lead to uncontrollable patterns and extensive cure times. 

Not all thinners use the same solvent composition. Some have a very fast evaporation rate, which can help with reducing cure times. Others use solvents with a slow evaporation rate. These can help entrapped bubbles escape the liquid film and can also allow for intermittent processing without cleaning the spray head. Many coating formulators offer a pre-blended package at the proper ratio for your particular coating machine or process requirements. 

If you’re interested in learning more about how to achieve consistency when working with thinners and solvents, contact PVA today and let us help make you a pro.