Vinyl/Laminate for Control panel + plexi

[tylerwerrin]

Hi guys,

I thought I could get away with just using lots of primer and some acrylic spray lacquer paint for my CP, but after it dried it still doesn't look "legit". It's shiny as a Piano, but it feels wrong. Is there a good DIY way for laminate or Vinyl to be used to cover your CP? It will also aid in covering up the black plate for my trackball, which is still vaguely visible through the paint. Is there a place online which sells printed laminate in custom sizes?

I also am tempted to lay some plexi on top of the laminate once I have it done -- however, since the CP is already drilled and milled, will this be possible to do? I dont want to risk messing up my button holes.

Any help would be great.

Thanks!

[gamer83]

Heres a link i dug up for you http://www.gameongrafix.com/products/control-panel-custom-design If you decide to cover your cp with plexi now,after everything is done,it "could" be a nightmare because your total thickness will increase.if thats not an issue the only thing i could see giving you a headache is the trackball.your going to have to route a little further into the wood for it to sit flush with the panel again.I have a piece of plexi over my cp,i used  1/2 inch  plywood and 1/4 inch plexi for total thickness of 3/4. my panel is pretty small,only 12 x 27 on an area 51 cab so this thickness is plenty rigid for me.I could show you some pics to get an idea of what it looks like.

[Edit:  Link fixed by moderator]

[tylerwerrin]

thanks for the tip -- right now, my trackball plate is routed into the wood and sits flush with the top of the CP. I noticed that around my trackball unit, there is about 1/8" or 1/16" of a plastic molded "lip" around the ball itself. My CP is 3/4" thick MDF. Do you have pictures of your setup?

thanks!

[gamer83]

I attached some pics of my control panel,its still in a crude phase and not final,just mocking everything up before i remake the final one.
what kind of trackball do you have? I have an xarcade and it has the 1/8 lip like yours,I think they all have that to some degree dont they?

Not sure if you can tell in the photos,but my joysticks and trackball have their spots cut out of the wood,normally this area would be routed.they mount directly to the plexiglass.for this thickness of a cp (3/4 inch) and setup in  3 pieces(base,print,plexi)I really had no choice but to mount them like that.unless i got longer sticks for the sanwa,but then the trackball still wouldnt fit properly.
 I could make a youtube video of how it goes together if you want,give you a better idea. Also i have a suggestion for you if you dont want to go this route.you said after you finished your cp it just didnt feel right,did you give it a few layers of clearcoat?and i dont mean a clear coat out of a spray can.use automotive clear coat,you mix it yourself,i beleive its 4 parts clear to 1 part hardener.it will harden alot more and look better than using spray bombs.thing is you need to rent a spray gun and compressor,if you dont already have them.

[tylerwerrin]

Did you use a 3" hole saw and chamfer the edges like Morpheus' cab? It looks nice. I found something called Formica to laminate the control panel with - however since I painted the CP, I'm not sure if it will stick and sanding the paint job now seems very obnoxious.