If you fly in humid or wet conditions, it’s crucial to protect your electronics from potential water damage. Enter the Flywoo X30 Waterproof Superhydrophobic Spray. This innovative product promises to provide an easy-to-apply, effective solution for waterproofing your drones and other electronics. In this review, I’ll share my hands-on experience with the Flywoo X30, detailing its application, performance, and overall effectiveness.
For more information on silicone conformal coating, check out my guide: https://oscarliang.com/waterproofing-drone-electronics/
Table of Contents
What is Flywoo X30
The Flywoo X30 is a superhydrophobic spray designed to waterproof electronics by creating an invisible barrier that repels water. Unlike traditional conformal coatings, which can be messy and time-consuming to apply, the X30 comes in a convenient spray bottle, making the application process straightforward and hassle-free. After applying, water just beads up and rolls off the treated surface, keeping the components dry.
Get the Flywoo X30 Spray from:
- Flywoo: https://oscarliang.com/product-q4oq
- AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DdEoqoP
- Banggood: https://oscarliang.com/product-c9u9
Each bottle contains about 56.7g of the superhydrophobic spray liquid.
First Impressions
Opening the Flywoo X30 spray, you find a compact, odorless spray bottle. The application process is straightforward, requiring just a few sprays to coat a small flight controller. One standout feature of the X30 is that it doesn’t leave a sticky or greasy residue. Instead, it forms a subtle white cast once dried.
Flywoo X30 Spray Close Up
With conformal coating, it usually leaves a glossy and sticky texture on the surface of your FC, which can gather dust and dirt over time.
Silicone Conformal Coating Close Up
Below are some images comparing the appearance of flight controllers with Flywoo X30 and typical silicone conformal coating. Before Applying:
After Applying: Left is Flywoo X30, and right is silicone conformal coating.
Normally, when FPV drone components get wet, water sticks to the PCB until it dries. This poses a risk of damage due to electrical short circuits.
After applying the Flywoo X30 spray, the water forms a bead when it comes into contact with the board and rolls off the surface. And it’s completely dry!
Performance Testing
Many users have tested the X30 by spraying it on their tiny whoops and dipping them in a bucket of water. Personally, I don’t think this is the best method because even without any water-resistant treatment, your whoops can still work when submerged in still water for a short period of time (I tried it).
What I really wanted to test was whether the X30 creates a barrier that stops the flow of electricity, preventing electrical short circuits. In my testing, I covered the ends of some wires with X30 spray and others with silicone conformal coating, then checked the continuity with a multimeter.
As expected, the traditional silicone conformal coating created an effective barrier to prevent short circuits with just one coat.
However, even with three coats of X30 spray, it didn’t fully prevent short circuits—current could still flow when the wires touched lightly. So, while X30 can repel water, it doesn’t stop short circuits. Therefore, I wouldn’t call this product “waterproof.”
When flying in humid conditions or light rain, this product might work, but do not expect it to save your drone if you crash and submerge it in water, especially in salt water. It is still very likely that a short circuit can occur and damage the drone components.
Application Process
Applying the X30 spray is incredibly simple:
- Preparation: Ensure your electronics are clean and dry before application. Apply in a well-ventilated room or outside.
- Shake the Bottle: Shake the bottle a few times before spraying.
- Spraying: Hold the bottle about 5-6 inches (12-15 cm) away from the surface and apply a light, even coat. Spray at different angles to ensure it reaches all the small gaps.
- Drying: The coating should begin to dry almost immediately, forming a thin, slightly white layer. Allow it to dry completely for 10-20 minutes. For added protection, apply a second or even third layer.
It’s recommended to apply at least three coats to achieve the desired effect. According to Flywoo, it takes about 2.5g of the spray to coat both sides of a flight controller three times. So a bottle of 56.7g allows you to coat approximately 20 flight controller boards.
Practical Tips
- Soldering: You can solder over the sprayed area without issues. Unlike thicker conformal coatings that can make soldering difficult, the Flywoo X30 allows for easy soldering of connections.
- Reapplication: If needed, reapplying the spray is straightforward. Simply clean the area with a brush and spray again.
- Spraying Connectors and USB Port: In my testing, spraying connectors and USB ports didn’t have any negative effects—they continued to function after multiple coats without covering.
- Avoiding Barometer: Although Flywoo claims the X30 spray doesn’t clog the barometer hole, I recommend covering it with a piece of tape just in case.
Easily Removable
The Flywoo X30 Superhydrophobic spray coating appears to be easily removable. When rubbed with a Q-tip, the coating comes off without much effort, and the thin layers fall off like snowflakes. This can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. For a more permanent solution, traditional conformal coating is still the way to go.
Applying X30 on Camera?
I think the X30 can be useful for FPV cameras—not just the circuit board, but the lens too. It prevents water droplets from forming on the lens, which can disrupt vision. If you’ve ever flown in humid or foggy conditions, you know how annoying this can be. Although it creates a white layer on the lens, a single coat is subtle enough to be acceptable—better than having no vision at all.
Doesn’t Fill Small Gaps
The spray applicator makes it easy to coat your electronics without having to disassemble the drone. This is a huge plus for anyone looking to quickly add some water resistance to their equipment.
However, spraying this coating doesn’t fill all small gaps like traditional silicone conformal coatings. If you want complete water-sealed protection, especially in hard-to-reach areas, you should still use silicone conformal coating.
I raised the concern with Flywoo, and they suggested dipping the entire FC in the X30 liquid. This makes sense, but it would require a large quantity of the product (and it’s not cheap), and you would still need to disassemble your quad to do this, so why not just use conformal coating?
Flywoo X30 Spray Close Up
Health and Safety
Flywoo has confirmed that the spray complies with Chinese safety standards, indicating that harmful substances do not exceed standard limits. However, the related documents are in Chinese, and no English data sheet is available at the moment.
While the spray has no smell, unlike silicone conformal coating, it’s always wise to handle such products with extra care. Apply it in a well-ventilated area, preferably wearing a mask and gloves.
Conclusion
The Flywoo X30 Superhydrophobic Spray offers a practical and easy-to-use solution for adding a layer of water resistance to your electronics. While it’s not a substitute for traditional conformal coatings in terms of durability and complete waterproofing, it excels in scenarios where ease of application and temporary protection are key.
Get the Flywoo X30 Spray from:
- Flywoo: https://oscarliang.com/product-q4oq
- AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DdEoqoP
- Banggood: https://oscarliang.com/product-c9u9
For more information on silicone conformal coating, check out my guide: https://oscarliang.com/waterproofing-drone-electronics/
5 comments
Oscar, do you think this product would be worth it to try to add waterproofing to the list of items that conformal coating in not suitable for, like power buttons, connectors, and barometers?
Personally, I’d just use traditional silicone conformal coating—it’s more effective. From my experience, X30 mainly prevents water droplets from accumulating by making them roll off the surface. However, in a fully submerged situation, it doesn’t do much to prevent short circuits. Plus, it’s quite expensive.
Hi Oscar, what was your procedure for coating the wire ends with X30 for electrical testing? Was it sprayed on using the recommended coating quantiy or dipped multiple times? I’m just gathering the lower viscosity of X30 compared to a silicon conformal coating means that it’s possibly runing off the wire ends before curing.
Have you tried the same electrical testing with a veroboard with one end masked off before applying X30?
What conformal brand would you recommend?
MG Chemicals Silicone Conformal Coating 422C which is available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3nkSWyb.