- Joined
- Apr 4, 2013
- Messages
- 3,415
The component Cu pads will be SLIGHTLY depressed below the level of the mask (the solder mask is layered on top after all the Cu is etched / deposited, depending on the manufacturing method).This is my Bailey:
FWIW, to me it doesn't feel like the circuit board is coated. I don't know for sure as I've never really handled circuit board that didn't have all of the electronic components installed.
In short, if its not coated with some knife handle specific material (epoxy / resin isn't needed in actual circuit board use) you should feel very minor height differences from one material to the next, if it was coated for knife use it would be perfectly smooth.
If you REALLY wanted to test you could use your DMM and test for continuity between a few different places.