plastic overlay

[deano728]

I created a new control panel with a trackball and had artwork created.  I went to home depot to get some thin lexan to cover the artwork, but the thinnest they had was .93 and it is too thick.  What is the best way to cover CP artwork and still make it work with a trackball?  Is there a place to buy thinner plastic?  Contact paper seems pretty cheesy, but I am stumped...

[Ginsu Victim]

How low is your trackball? I wouldn't think that plexi or lexan would make it unusable.

Do you have a Lowes anywhere close? They carry a nice selection of both.

[deano728]

I bought a trackball mounting plate and it is a 2 1/4 trackball.  The mounting plate is flush with the wood, but it just seems like it would lose something if the lexan added a little thickness to it.  I will try lowes tomorrow.  The plastic overlay on the old control panel that came with the cab is almost half the thickness of the stuff I bought, so I am sure it exists somewhere.  Does plexi come that thin?

[boogieman]

If you can't find it locally, you can always check somewhere online, like mcmaster.com or usplastics.com.  They do make it pretty thin.

[DaOld Man]

I put very thin plexi on my very first control panel.
That was not a good idea. It is very easy to crack, also it expands and contracts with temperature changes, even to the point that it bows up.
I put the cp together in the house, then took it outside to the garage to mount. It was probably a 10 degree difference. The stuff immediately bowed up and looked crappy. There were like pockets between the wood and the plexi.
Just a word of caution.

[ivwshane]

What's the recommended thickness or normal thickness for lexan for the cp?

[anewcomb]

What's the recommended thickness or normal thickness for lexan for the cp?

I am wondering this myself as I am going down to the hardware store to pick some up today.

[RayB]

I recommend a thickness of zero.

[DaOld Man]

I was waiting for someone else to answer this, because to tell the truth, I dont know the recommended size.
I cant remember what size the last I bought was, but it seemed to work real good. Im thinking it was 0.08", but I cant be sure.
I have seen people on here use 5/8" MDF for the panel, then cover it with a 1/8" thick plexi.
That way T molding made for 3/4" looks real nice when installed on the mdf + plexi.
It covers the edge of the plexi.
The only problem I can see with that is that the edge of the plexi has to be pretty well flush with the edge of the MDF.
Also, the slot for the t molding in the MDF will have to be cut off center. That shouldnt be too big a deal though.
I can cut off center without even trying!
But what people have done looks so good, I will probably use that method on my next panel.

[ivwshane]

I was thinking of going the 5/8+1/8 route myself but I would imagine that that would not leave a lot of wood for the t-molding to bite into.

Does anyone have a pic of 5/8+1/8 with the slot cut showing?