I am interested in putting that nice green / red soldermask on the PCBs that I make at home. The problem is I can't find a lot of information on it, like where to buy it, etc. Do any hobbyists actually do this, or is it only for the pros?
CLARIFY:
I am interested in this technique not only to protect my board once it is complete, but also so I can give it a professional look. I understand fully that I don't 'need' it for hobby type applications, but I am still interested in it. Is this stuff that can actually be bought in reasonable quantities? Is it very expensive, etc. Does anybody know?
Best Answer
Surely you can do soldermask, if you already mastered making PCBs using photomasks. Material for soldermasks is also UV-sensetive, so you expose & develop it and that's it.
But unless you are using reflow soldering at home :-) , there is no much sence. You can solder even small-mid size BGA's without soldermask - just flux & practice.
Or if you badly want soldermask for BGA in small quantity - you can just take capton material, and manually make all required holes and then glue it to PCB.