Hi David, good question.From a voltage per turn and performance standpoint, no, it makes no difference. The insulation on the magnet wire is the voltage standoff layer, even with a coating (unless space wound). Terry Fritz wound a couple coils with saran wrap (probably Glad cling-free wrap) and they performed flawlessly (no goo to seep into the windings). He put it there basically to keep the windings in place.
It is nice to coat a coil with a clear coating (which seals out moisture, holds the windings in place, allows handling of the coil, and a little help from dielectric mishaps). I personally will always coat my coils for these reasons. I put on enough coats until the winding ridges are no longer noticeable (smooth finish). That is my basic target for "enough" coats. The thicker the application, the less coats that are necessary.
Space winding a coil will certainly add to standoff voltage, but considering the volts per turn, it's not necessary to space wind a coil (and there is no benefit in performance).
Take care, Bart david baehr wrote:
with a 'tight' wound coil,..is a coating really helping much? The windings are touching...
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