Hi, I came across a broken washing machine. The control board has got a lot of salvageable components but the whole board is covered with the water proofing gel.
My main question is what is this material? and is it Toxic? It smells horrible. It comes off when scrapped with a screw driver but wanted to check whether there was any other way of removing the gel?
The gel has got a yellowish tint.

 

I would not suggest you eat it.

It is called conformal coating.

Those tact switches cost pennies on eBay. It is not worth the effort to salvage.

 

Conformal coating. As far as I know it isn't particularly toxic but it's probably best not to eat it.
You can remove small sections mechanically with a scraper or fibreglass brush or you might try one of these (I never have).
https://www.intertronics.co.uk/prod...er-pen-the-mighty-pen-for-universal-cleaning/

 

Hahahaha I'll try and not eat it . Thanks for the help

 

30 plus years in the industry, conformal coating is often dissolved using MEK (Methyl Ethyl Keltone), a known carcinogen. A product the industry has strongly moved away from using. The cleaning chemicals are more hazardous than the coating is. Basically, conformal coating (CC) is just a sort of paint used to protect the circuit from moisture.

I'm with @spinnaker on this one, they are so cheap they're not worth the effort to clean and remove them. Even I - the pack rat that I am - have stopped collecting them, as I have yet to use a single one of them I've salvaged. They're used and could be the reason why the washing machine has been scrapped. You could go through all that expense and work (and potential health hazards) to end up with a switch that is unreliable. They DO have a service life span. Using a switch that is somewhere close to end of life for a project may just be one more health hazard, that of shooting yourself in the foot.

 

Yeah, conformal coating and they make strippers just for it. No I would not eat the stuff.

I also agree with spinnaker:

I would not suggest you eat it.

It is called conformal coating.

Those tact switches cost pennies on eBay. It is not worth the effort to salvage.

The switches I can buy on Amazon, free shipping at under $9 USD for 180 of them.

Ron

 

Thanks for the help guys. There is actually a 3 digit seven segment display and some other components I would like to salvage - its not in the photo, I framed the photo to show the gel as much as possible.
Regarding ordering things online - it takes a long time to get things shipped over here and shipping cost are so high which sometimes make ordering smaller things almost not worth it.
@Tonyr1084 - so is it very toxic stuff to handle? What do you suggest I use to clean the components once I remove them (how about IPA)?

Thanks so much again really appreciate it.

 

Where is "over here"?

 

@Yami: I don't know what IPA is, sorry. You might try paint thinner or some other solvent. MEK is not good stuff to be using. But if you have it and use it in a well ventilated area AND don't use it every day then you should be OK.

I'm with Spinnaker on this one - where's "Over here"?

I can understand salvaging the displays. I've salvaged many and have yet to use one of them. But then again, my electronics hobby has been largely inactive. I'm currently running a test and charting the results of draining a coin cell battery using an LED. At present it's barely glowing at all. And the day to day drop in voltages suggest it would take the better part of a year to completely drain the battery. Well, I haven't calculated that part of it yet, but as you can tell, I'm not doing a lot electronically lately. Actually, after I post this I'm going out in the garage to continue building cabinets for my wife's kitchen.

 

I don't know what IPA is, sorry. .

To me, that would be India Pale Ale!!
Max.

 

India Pale Ale or isopropyl alcohol. They both contain alcohol. One is C2H5OH, the other is C3H7OH. Be careful which one you drink.

 

@Yami: I don't know what IPA is, sorry. You might try paint thinner or some other solvent. MEK is not good stuff to be using. But if you have it and use it in a well ventilated area AND don't use it every day then you should be OK.

I'm with Spinnaker on this one - where's "Over here"?

Luckily I haven't got MEK . The IPA I have got is isopropyl alcohol hehehe .
"Over here" is the Maldives.

 

.
"Over here" is the Maldives.

I remember the 2011 documentary 'The Island President' didn't really know much at all about the Maldives till then!
Max.

 

I remember the 2011 documentary 'The Island President' didn't really know much at all about the Maldives till then!
Max.

Yep, and the famous underwater cabinet meeting to raise awareness for global warming

 

I would not suggest you eat it.

.

Beat me to it - that probably isn't very harmful, but I wouldn't bother chewing it off...……...

 

Luckily I haven't got MEK . The IPA I have got is isopropyl alcohol hehehe .
"Over here" is the Maldives.

Check out @R!f@@ he is from your neighborhood. He might have some ideas for parts.

anyone know what happened to him?

 

The wise thing to do when unsoldering things that have the conformal coating is to have a small fan blowing the smoke away from you so that you do not breathe it. And the area needs to be ventilated so that the smoke goes outside. It does make sense to scrape off what can easily come off, and avoid long contact with the scraped off material. Any solvent that will remove the coating is more dangerous than the coating itself. So just unsolder and avoid breathing the smoke. AND stay away from the state of California, where everything is known to cause cancer.

 

California can cause cancer.

Maldives - Now I understand the reason for salvaging stuff.

One method of salvage I've used OUTDOORS IN A 100% VENTILATED AREA is to use a torch to burn the coating and melt the solder. Do so over a bucked of water and bang the board on the bucket to knock the salvaged equipment off into the water. It's a crude method, and to be certain, overheating the board will burn it and can burn whatever it is you're attempting to remove.

A more civilized method has been to use a heat gun capable of melting solder. Due to capillary action the small stuff doesn't fall off without rapping the board against something rigid. Again, do this outdoors as the fumes are not something you want to spend time breathing.