Making Placards

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

"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.

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

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.

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

What about Officemax of Office depot?

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

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?

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.

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.