Making Placards

[Charlie]

Hi, I would like to make professional looking placards for the switches and
circuit breakes in my homebuilt. I have searched the 3M web pages for a
product I heard they have, but have not been able to locate it. Does anyone
have any ideas for making the placards and a source for the materials?

Charlie

[Rich S.[_1_]]

"Charlie" > wrote in message
...
> Hi, I would like to make professional looking placards for the switches
> and circuit breakes in my homebuilt. I have searched the 3M web pages for
> a product I heard they have, but have not been able to locate it. Does
> anyone have any ideas for making the placards and a source for the
> materials?
>
> Charlie

Go to your local (Bowling) Trophy engraver.

Rich S.

[Rip]

Charlie wrote:
> Hi, I would like to make professional looking placards for the switches and
> circuit breakes in my homebuilt. I have searched the 3M web pages for a
> product I heard they have, but have not been able to locate it. Does anyone
> have any ideas for making the placards and a source for the materials?
>
> Charlie
>
>
http://www.horizonsisg.com/products/alumajet.asp

[stol]

Rich is right on with this one. I had the local Trophy engraver do my
panel and she did a great job, bill was 80 bucks, I gave her a 50
dollar tip... Well worth it. !!!!!!!!!!!!

Ben
www.haaspowerair.com
Rich S. wrote:
> "Charlie" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Hi, I would like to make professional looking placards for the switches
> > and circuit breakes in my homebuilt. I have searched the 3M web pages for
> > a product I heard they have, but have not been able to locate it. Does
> > anyone have any ideas for making the placards and a source for the
> > materials?
> >
> > Charlie
>
> Go to your local (Bowling) Trophy engraver.
>
> Rich S.

[Scott[_1_]]

How about rub on lettering? Available at many places...you might try
Wal Mart or an arts and craft store or even on-line (
http://www.nextag.com/Chartpak--900834/brand-html )
You can spray clear coat over the panel when you are finished applying
the lettering to keep them from getting rubbed off.

Scott



Charlie wrote:

> Hi, I would like to make professional looking placards for the switches and
> circuit breakes in my homebuilt. I have searched the 3M web pages for a
> product I heard they have, but have not been able to locate it. Does anyone
> have any ideas for making the placards and a source for the materials?
>
> Charlie
>
>

[Lou]

What about Officemax of Office depot?

[Peter Dohm]

>
> What about Officemax of Office depot?
>
Both can get it done for you. Staples can also get it done for you, and so
can your local Mom-and-Pop office supply. However, I would rather go
directly to the engraver.

If the aircraft is purely day VFR, or the placard is only for something like
the warning notice for an amateur built aircraft, then a trip to the local
engraver is probably all you'll ever need.

OTOH, there is an entire science in backlighted engraved panels. At the
time that I left the avionics business, the backlighted panels still all
used incandescent lamps--many of which were weed lights--and there was a
significant amount of work performed in replacing lamps and touching up
panels at annual on aircraft such as King Airs. At that time (circa 1986)
red or yellow LEDs were cheap, green cost money, blue was expensive, and
white did not exist. Today, white leds are quite affordable by aircraft
standards, draw little power and run cold, and are far more reliable than
incandescents--so there could be an interesting project in back lighted
panels. Alternatively, if the aircraft is to fly at night or during civil
twilight, at least make the labels oversize--because switches and breakers
are frequently a long distance (and shallow angle) below the "eyebrow"
lights.

Peter

[Dave S]

Charlie wrote:
> Hi, I would like to make professional looking placards for the switches and
> circuit breakes in my homebuilt. I have searched the 3M web pages for a
> product I heard they have, but have not been able to locate it. Does anyone
> have any ideas for making the placards and a source for the materials?
>
> Charlie
>
>

Would it be more professional looking to get laser engraved plastic
stuff from a trophy shop?

[Ernest Christley]

Charlie wrote:
> Hi, I would like to make professional looking placards for the switches and
> circuit breakes in my homebuilt. I have searched the 3M web pages for a
> product I heard they have, but have not been able to locate it. Does anyone
> have any ideas for making the placards and a source for the materials?
>
> Charlie
>
>

I just did a fairly nice, multicolored placard for my switch panel by
stealing Jim Weir's circuit board construction idea.

Draw the panel on your computer then make a mirror image. Print it out
on cheap inkjet paper with a color laser printer. If your wife doesn't
have one for her real-estate business, you can do it at a copy shop for
$0.30 (or at work if you don't let 'em catch you at it).

Wipe the aluminum surface down with MEK then iron the print onto the
aluminum. Set the iron to the hottest setting, go slow, and make sure
you get everything good and hot. Rub it in hard, too. Let it cool
completely before moving it, then soak it for and hour or two in warm,
soapy water to remove the paper.

The laser ink is just a plastic that you melt onto the paper and then
the placard. A coating of clearcoat of some sort wont' make babies cry
either.

Your imagination is now the limit.

[Ron Webb]

My way to do panels is to paint the panel, then make up your lettering on
the computer using a word processor.

Then all you have to do is lay the paper over the painted surface, and wet
it down with clear epoxy. The paper becomes transparent, and the panel looks
really good.


"Scott" > wrote in message
.. .
> How about rub on lettering? Available at many places...you might try Wal
> Mart or an arts and craft store or even on-line (
> http://www.nextag.com/Chartpak--900834/brand-html )
> You can spray clear coat over the panel when you are finished applying the
> lettering to keep them from getting rubbed off.
>
>

[Steve J]

Charlie wrote:
Does anyone have any ideas for making the placards and a source for the
materials?

Charlie

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Hey Charlie - this worked well for me:

I created all the placards I wanted in Coral Draw, including warnings,
limitations, labels, check lists etc. ( I guess any similar software
that has the required font and font sizes will be Ok including MS word.
I set things up to print a mirror image in reverse (negative) format -
then printed the sheet(s) on clear plastic (over-head projector sheets)
in a regular ink-jet (bubble jet?) printer. This obviously consumes
more ink than normal so try it out in draft (or wire-frame) mode on
normal paper until you are happy with everything.

Now we have the actual lettering in the clear part of the plastic (all
else is black ink) and reads correctly when viewed from the plastic
side. I guess this print colour could be selected to suite your panel
colour. I tried different things from this point, including a coat of
white paint over the printed part in order to make the writing white
(not clear). I suppose different colours could be used over some
placards if needed. I also tied pasting a sheet of white paper over
the "back" to create the white letters. I honestly cannot remember
what I ended up doing, but I do remember that the solvent in the paint
and glue was inititially a problem (disolving the ink, but I managed to
find a way around that.

The final "lamination" of clear plastic, printed ink, white paint (or
paper) is very thin and readily cut to shape with scissors (round or 45
degree corners) and cemented in position on the panel or wherever.
Test all the glues and paints including the final adhesive on a test
strip placed in sunlight for a few days. My final product was mounted
with super glue (the thicker one) dabbed very carefully onto the
placard to avoid unsightly ooze-out.

Tip - the ink washes off the plastic so any foul-up can be washed off
for another attempt.

Good luck

Steve J

[Ebby]

Isn't there a special kind of printer paper for making iron on transfers to
t-shirts and sweatshirts? Wonder if that would work then use a clearcoat
finish. I never tried it. It's just a possibility.


Ebby


"Steve J" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>
> Charlie wrote:
> Does anyone have any ideas for making the placards and a source for the
> materials?
>
> Charlie
>
> +++++++++++++++++++++++
>
> Hey Charlie - this worked well for me:
>
> I created all the placards I wanted in Coral Draw, including warnings,
> limitations, labels, check lists etc. ( I guess any similar software
> that has the required font and font sizes will be Ok including MS word.
> I set things up to print a mirror image in reverse (negative) format -
> then printed the sheet(s) on clear plastic (over-head projector sheets)
> in a regular ink-jet (bubble jet?) printer. This obviously consumes
> more ink than normal so try it out in draft (or wire-frame) mode on
> normal paper until you are happy with everything.
>
> Now we have the actual lettering in the clear part of the plastic (all
> else is black ink) and reads correctly when viewed from the plastic
> side. I guess this print colour could be selected to suite your panel
> colour. I tried different things from this point, including a coat of
> white paint over the printed part in order to make the writing white
> (not clear). I suppose different colours could be used over some
> placards if needed. I also tied pasting a sheet of white paper over
> the "back" to create the white letters. I honestly cannot remember
> what I ended up doing, but I do remember that the solvent in the paint
> and glue was inititially a problem (disolving the ink, but I managed to
> find a way around that.
>
> The final "lamination" of clear plastic, printed ink, white paint (or
> paper) is very thin and readily cut to shape with scissors (round or 45
> degree corners) and cemented in position on the panel or wherever.
> Test all the glues and paints including the final adhesive on a test
> strip placed in sunlight for a few days. My final product was mounted
> with super glue (the thicker one) dabbed very carefully onto the
> placard to avoid unsightly ooze-out.
>
> Tip - the ink washes off the plastic so any foul-up can be washed off
> for another attempt.
>
> Good luck
>
> Steve J
>

[RPE]

You may try a electronics specialty store. I forget the name of the
product but about thirty years ago I marked panel with a product that
uses a process similar to ones described here earlier but the letters
come on sheet of wax paper ready to rub onto the surface. A form of
"Decoposh" which I believe was part of the product name such as
Decoletter or Decoseal or something. I'll bet the RST guy knows about
this stuff. I think with the advent of the Brother label makers these
letters have become extinct perhaps.


"Charlie" > wrote in message
...
> Hi, I would like to make professional looking placards for the
> switches and circuit breakes in my homebuilt. I have searched the 3M
> web pages for a product I heard they have, but have not been able to
> locate it. Does anyone have any ideas for making the placards and a
> source for the materials?
>
> Charlie
>
>

[Peter Dohm]

I remember those, IIRC, the letters and numbers were always black, they
came on 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheets, and they were available in a number of fonts
and point sizes. They worked faily well when applied to aluminum or
paper--within the rather crude limits of aligning them visually--but I never
tried them on paper. They were available (and probably still are) from
office supply, drafting supply, and art supply stores.

Obviously the result will be a legal placard, and better looking than Dymo,
but not nearly as nice as an engraved placard.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: For far less effort and very
little more money, your firendly local engraver will make you placards which
Cessna, Beech, and Boeing would be proud to use. That's if you don't make
any mistakes and don't creat any scrap--which is a big "if"!

Peter

"RPE" > wrote in message
t...
>
> You may try a electronics specialty store. I forget the name of the
> product but about thirty years ago I marked panel with a product that
> uses a process similar to ones described here earlier but the letters
> come on sheet of wax paper ready to rub onto the surface. A form of
> "Decoposh" which I believe was part of the product name such as
> Decoletter or Decoseal or something. I'll bet the RST guy knows about
> this stuff. I think with the advent of the Brother label makers these
> letters have become extinct perhaps.
>
>
> "Charlie" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Hi, I would like to make professional looking placards for the
> > switches and circuit breakes in my homebuilt. I have searched the 3M
> > web pages for a product I heard they have, but have not been able to
> > locate it. Does anyone have any ideas for making the placards and a
> > source for the materials?
> >
> > Charlie
> >
> >
>
>