DIY Faceplates ( and chassis )

[Aurora]

I happen to live in the outskirts of this world, and freight charges for bits and pieces have gone through the roof during the last years. International parcel post is no more, and several of the larger shipping companies charges 1000$ +/hr. to write up the import papers -- a 100$ fee to write up the papers for no customs to pay ( only VAT) is quite common. ( Who said the world is getting smaller ..???)

I am also an electronics professional - I have access to all sorts of equipment for PCBs, (including SMD eqpt), all sorts of instruments, mech. workshop etc.etc, so I'm very well off in all respects but one - Faceplates!

Plastic laminating paper prints ( ala Kinko's) looks so-so, plastic engraving plates ditto, - Dymo labels even worse, - and transfer lettering has no wear resistance.....

Any other ideas or examples ? Anyone tried photo etching alu plates "ala PCBs" ?

[Structo]

How about waterslide decals.
If you put a clear coat or six over them they are pretty durable.
If you use a laser printer they are water proof.

That's how we do it on guitars.

I've seen a few amps and depending on the background color can look every bit as good as silk screened plates.

[Bear]

If you have local engraving shops like we have all over the place for stupid plaques kids get for participating in youth sports, they can engrave metal panels, obviously. Maybe fill the engraved lettering with India ink if you need contrast.

You can get a wood-burning kit for a soldering iron and learn to do TW-ish panels.

You can find a silk-screen shop and put some clear coats (matte or gloss) over the panel.

If there's a shop that does custom motorcycles or hot rods near you, ask them what they could do with anodized or powder-coated finishes -- maybe something is in there reach that could give you the desired effect.

I think I have seen people use etched PCB's for non-circuit aesthetic purposes, but nothing springs immediately to mind.

Bear

[Structo]

I used to have an old solid state Ampeg guitar amp head ( portaflex?) but it had an etched face plate.
It had back lighting that would glow throught the areas that were etched.
It was a cool look and if I remember right it was kind of a blue glow.

[Abstract]

Has anyone made a PCB 'Wreck?

[drhulsey]

... I'm very well off in all respects but one - Faceplates!

Eric (Lonely Raven) uses a laser engraver on wood. The engraver was meant for name tags, etc, at work, but Eric has made beautiful face plates with it.
http://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4494

[FunkyE9th]

I 've been trying a few things and ended up going back to using dry transfers and putting clear coat over it.

Below are couple products that I tried. Maybe it'll work better for you if you try it. I didn't like my results.

I tried http://www.lazertran.com/products/lazer ... inkjet.htm . This thing has a feature that you can melt the decal into the wood with turpentine...did not work well for me.

Also tried this http://www.texascraft.com/hps/product.p ... 299&page=1 got better results than the lazer tran, but still did not like it.

If you want to print white text, it will not work with the above products, unless you have a printer that prints white...very rare.

The other one I'm thinking of trying is http://www.pulsarprofx.com/decalpro/Ver ... Works.html You can do white text with this.

[lastwinj]

front panel express

next door, or close enough in germany.

or have someone in the states order one and ship it. couldnt be more than $20 over nominal to ship.

germ

[davent]

Reverse printed waterslide decals applied to the back of thin Lexan (polycarbonate) sheet.

dave

[Bear]

Reverse printed waterslide decals applied to the back of thin Lexan (polycarbonate) sheet.

That looks great -- very pro.

Bear

[Aurora]

Hey- that's neat!
Did you use gold lacquer atop the decals and plate?

[davent]

Hey- that's neat!
Did you use gold lacquer atop the decals and plate?

Hello,

It's all done on the back of the plastic, you have to think it through backwards. Working on the back of the plastic gives you a pretty indestructable product once mounted to the chassis. I was able to get the 1.5mm polycarbonate plastic locally for around $3cdn. cut to size.

The reverse printed decals are applied to the back of the plastic then sealed in with multiple coats of clear spray can lacquer, enough coats and sanding back to make the edges of the decals dissappear.

Mask off the ring around the label, (screwed-up big time at this stage... aah live and learn) spray with clear, this will help prevent the colour coats from bleeding under the masked edge giving you a better defined edge between colours. Airbrushed on Auto-Air Colors Pearlized Gold (Acrylic airbrush paint). When dry sprayed on black base paint of the same brand. When dry sealed in with clear lacquer. The acrylics are watersoluble so they need to be sealed in with something tough to protect them.

The masking for the ring was removed and the rest of the back was sprayed with the same gold paint. (The black band had previously been mask and painted.) When dry a white base Auto-Air was sprayed over the entire back. The gold paint backed with black gives you a nice gold colour and the same gold paint backed with white gives you the creamy colour that i thought worked better with the vinyl i had. To seal in the entire back after the colours were done i sprayed on a waterbased polyurethane varnish i had on hand.

The work sequence would be; (working on the back of the plastic) Plastic->lacquer->decal->lacquer->Clear base Auto Air Color->Gold paint->Black/white base paint->tough seal coat. Before starting to spray the lacquer i sanded the plastic with 220 grit paper hoping to improve the adhesion of the lacquer to the plastic. The lacquer was then sanded and polished to glass smooth before applying the decals.

Another way I've seen done with really nice results is to print out your faceplate to a coloured paper and put that behind the thin plastic protector.

Either way it's inexpensive on materials and no shipping, but it does take time, mostly waiting for things to dry and set up.

Have fun!
dave

[Lonely Raven]

How about waterslide decals.
If you put a clear coat or six over them they are pretty durable.
If you use a laser printer they are water proof.

That's how we do it on guitars.

I've seen a few amps and depending on the background color can look every bit as good as silk screened plates.

That's what I was going to recommend. I do waterslide decals on laser paper made for it.

[Tonegeek]

I am trying to do my plates with a laser and having mixed results. I use .020" Alumamark a 3 layer material which is supposed to produce a glossy black letter. Not sure if the laser has power fluctuations or if the material is bad but you can see in the sample what happens. I sent this sample to the laser manufacturer but they cannot tell us what is wrong. When it works, it looks very professional. I may try just using straight anodized aluminum, but then you are limited to letters that are aluminum colored (unless you fill them).

[Abstract]

Tell them THIS is the problem. Hint: It's between the red lines.


[IMG385]http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g122/ ... pdtest.jpg[/img]