I have a small panel on the old car where the printing beneath the buttons has worn off.
Panel is steel, painted black, with white lettering - I assume silk screen printed.
Is there a modern way of fixing this at home?
Assuming letraset isn't seen as modern, dymo labeller with 1/2" or 1" white on clear tape?
Letraset isn't available in the correct font and size - but difficult to make a decent job of at such a small size, and likely not durable enough.
Dymo label simply looks awful.
Best result I got was printing out the entire panel on gloss paper, then glueing it to the steel. Printing the black so the characters were white. But not durable enough.
What I tend to do with new stereo systems thes days is get a bit of picture varnish and get somebody with good eyesight to just cover them with it, no further issues. I used to go through front panels in a few months otherwise. However if there are no new panels around for what you want to do, there really is no really good way to fix it in my experience, that does not come off again. I guess you could get the panel engraved and filled with a white filler. Brian
or one of the Brother printers that take their white on a transparent tapes.
These machines can print different height text on the tape and it can be cut down with care.
Option2 stick vinyl over the whole panel with your design/text
I don't mean the 1970's embossed version!
The "D1" machines are USB printers that can do text/graphics
White on clear, white on transparent, same thing ...
I have a Brother label printer which I have used for this type of work. Label is laminated to should survive. Various widths of tape available
Not quite the white text on black, but:
Now, where to get white laser toner?
1 Laminate the paper after printing or just laminate the front using one side of a laminating pouch and domestic iron on low heat. 2 (pcb) lacquer spray the front of the paper after printing - start with a mist coat. 3 Reverse the image and laser print onto laser transparency paper then place some white paper behind to give the white text
And if using nail varnish remover make sure that it not the acetone free type.
I was wondering whether printing onto plastic self-adhesive labels would work. I used those for labels that need to survive for years outdoors. I suppose it depends how small the panel is. These people will even send you a free sample, so you don't need to buy a whole pack:
On the same theme;
Not "at home", but: design a new one, send it off to a "front panel service"?
Perhaps that old-school black plastic with inner layer white -- text engraved to show the white?
in Treznal, this is a big player, have their own software:
Thomas Prufer
Probably ok if you lacquer it after, or protect with a clear plastic film etc.
Are you sure you are not thinking of the old "embossed" printing tapes? Contrast and compare with modern systems like the Brother Laminated EZ tapes - very robust, and you can print on different sized tapes in a number of fonts etc.
Laminate it before cutting out and sticking?
...
You can even get self-adhesive laminating pouches for an all-in-one solution.
I've got a couple. But a stick on label is going to look just like that - as you'll see the edges. And the present paint finish is satin. These tapes gloss.
A tape wide enough to cover the entire panel would look better with no edges - but not got a unit that could do that even if it is made.
Laminated paper sadly looks like what it is - when you get the light across it.
Did wonder about CAD engravers. Not knowing anything about them - have they come down to domestic prices? And can engrave steel with a suitable cutter.
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