A device for coating printed circuit boards with a fluid coating compound applied to the board surface is disclosed. The device has a conveyor for the printed circuit boards, a sprayer arranged over or under the conveyor, and a covering element on at least one side over an edge area of the printed circuit boards, wherein the area of the covering element covering the edge area of the printed circuit board can be moved away from the printed circuit board. The device also has a wiper, which wipes the coating compound moved away from the printed circuit board off from the covering element and supplies it to a holding tank.