Anyone tried varnish or lacquer to cover cp?

[Keith O]

I am looking for an ideal solution to the problem of how to protect custom printed control panels (without using plexi/lexan). I've heard about taking it to a service bureau where they can apply a laminate but I was wondering if a layer of varnish or lacquer would do the trick. Maybe it could be applied with a roller to give it a nice texture? Is this a bad idea?

[SNAAAKE]

very very bad idea

lexan should be really easy to handle..its no big deal..you can hammer it and still wont crack..but plexi is really really hard to work with..personally i went with plexi(no money).but lexan is not that expensive either..its like 3 times more then plexi...go with lexan..you panel would last forever.

[neuromancer]

If you are in the USA, find out the store where elementary school teachers go. They will be an educations supply store, and they have maps and stickers and workbooks and stuff.

They also have a laminating machine, where you can get your stuff laminated for probably under $1. Then you can use rubber cement to stick the laminated overlay to whatever your panel is made from.

Bob

[Keith O]

Thanks guys, but I'm not to sure about either solution.

I'm not real fond of the way lexan looks. I was hoping to achieve something similar to the textured vinyl that most classic arcade games had for CP's.

Also, traditional lamination needs to have a seal around the edge in order to keep it from peeling off (at least the ones I've dealt with). The heat alone does not adhere very well to paper and will eventually peel.

Clear contact paper, another option, is too flimsy for a permanent solution. I've just run out of ideas and was hoping varnish would work well. Any other ideas?

[rampy]

I'm just blue skying here but... howabout....

You print out your control panel design/etc on vinyl (at professional printers or kinkos or whatever).... You contact cement that sucker down... cut out holes etc....

Then use a spray can clear polyurethane clear coat to finish and protect it... maybe several super thin/light coats.... (kinda like the people who make their own side art, stickem note spray them to their cabinets, and then seal em with urathane clear spray -- know what i mean?)

I'd test it out first if you went that way... It would be even better if kinko's et al had some sort of textured vinyl to print on...

*Shrug* just an idea... it may not fly =P

good luck!
rampy

[BombProofPlane]

i agrree with snake just use lexan so if you tire of your overlay just pull off the lexan and print a new one

1 in of lexan is bulletproof

[Keith O]

I just came back from Home Depot with several different kinds of spray clear-coat. I'm going test them all and see what produces the best results. Thanks for the tip.

[neuromancer]

On lamination:

In 1997 we made up some promotional materials, which we got "sandwitch" laminated at the education store. When we got them back to the office we trimmed the edges to get a clean look. They still look like the day we got them made, so at least some laminates hold up. Maybe it depends on how they are handled.

You can also get a service bureau to vaccuum laminate with 9mil textured surface, exactly like the classic games, just more expensive than option A. A vaccuum press is a pretty specialized piece of equipment; you will only find it at a place that specializes in presentation graphics -- places architects and advertising agencies go to.

On spray overcoating:

If you are going to spray something onto an inkjet print, make sure you get something to test your spray on. Some of them will do bad things to the ink. It will also take many, many coats to build up a finish, but the resulting finish is pretty durable.

Bob

[ErikRuud]

It can be done, and my friends and I do it all the time with home made decals on slot cars.

You will want to test to make sure that the clear coat does not make the ink bleed.  When you do the test, wait a few days before deciding that it works.  One time, I printed some decals, waited a day for the ink to dry, then sprayed on the sealer that came with the decal paper.  The next day everything looked good.  Two days later, all the red ink had bled so bad, that a 1mm line had turned in to a 1cm smear!

[Keith O]

I called all the service bureaus in town and they didn't have a clue as to what I was talking about. Oh well, looks as if I'm going to go the route of clear sprays.

I did try something experimental this morning but the results weren't that good. I have some spare inkjet iron-on transfers (blank) and tried ironing them to a test piece printed CP. I figured, hey, these things stick pretty well to frabric and paper is porous so... maybe, just maybe it'll work as some kind of protective layer. It did work as a protective layer but there were places where the transfer didn't stick to well to the paper so it was slightly spotted. Anyway, If I can figure a way to get it to stick more evenly, it might be an alternative solution.

It just seems strange to me that some clear strong adhesive material is hard to find.

[neuromancer]

I called all the service bureaus in town and they didn't have a clue as to what I was talking about. Oh well,

It just seems strange to me that some clear strong adhesive material is hard to find.

These people have thick laminate
http://www.tpm.com/
It's been awhile, but I used to email them files that they would print and ship to me.

These people have laminate too:

http://bigposters.com/2000lamination.html

Bob

[Keith O]

Thanks Neuromancer! I'll give it a try.

[fultra]

I made several CP's and tried two types of covering.

1. Pica film from HAPPS.  It has an adhesive back and is cheap. However its hard to get to fit properly around the corners.  But it looks really good and is durable.

2. I used laminate (also known as formica) like you buy at Lowes.  I bought a sheet of black and used laminate glue to secure it to the top, and sides.  Then used a router to trim.  VERY easy to do, the first one I did is on my main CP and I've had lots of compliments.

Fultra

[Keith O]

Sprays weren't working as well as I had hoped (they just don't seem durable enough to put up with any type of abuse) but I just tried something new and the results seem promising. I bought some epoxy (the type in the two chambers) and a small disposible foam roller (4" maybe). I emptied the contents of the epoxy, mixed it, then applied it with the roller. I had to work fast because it hardens in 4-6 minutes. Anyway, aside from a few very tiny bubbles, I really like the results. It has a nice texture and it seems extremely durable. The finish is glossy but I used some satin clear spray and it made it more to my liking. Only time will tell if it holds up to abuse but I'm initially optimistic.

This was done on a test piece from my inkjet printer and it took all of the epoxy to cover the 8.5 x 11 space. Keep that in mind if you'd like to try this yourself.

All in all, I spent a little over $5 so it's affordable to experiment with.

[Yarb]

Interesting Idea, If the epoxy doesnt yellow I can't imaging it not working as its VERY strong stuff. You can get 30 minute epoxy as well and its even stronger to boot.

Yarb

[Keith O]

Yeah, that's another concern - yellowing. I'll just have to wait and see. Is 30 minute epoxy easy to find in stores? Home Depot only had 90 second and 4-6 minute. They did have one that took longer to cure (don't know how long) but one of the chambers was light yellow so I didn't even bother checking it out.

[Slice]

Sorry to jump in at the end, but why not try Signmakers clear-Vinyl , its sticky,cheap, durable and looks well? I'm sure a signmaker will even cut it to size for you (With holes and all) on a  plotter.