Installing CPO Vinyl

[the_77x42]

I purchased a CPO from mamemarquees.com. It's self-adhesive vinyl. Now I'm looking to install it onto this type of metal CP:

http://chux0r.org/fighters/xvssf-full.jpg

25" Dynamo with the triangles on the sides. The CPO, like the original, should go from the top of the CP, over the rounded bend at the front, and down to the bottom.

Any tips on installing the vinyl? Should I use the soapy water and squeege technique, or just a squeege? What about a credit card? Should I do a template first and cut out the excess around the 'triangle' sides before installing the CPO or afterwards?

What I am planning to do is create a template out of wax paper (only thing I can think of that's wide enough) and then cut the triangles out of the CPO. Tape the CPO to the bottom of the CP and peel off half the backing. Bring the CPO up to the rounded bend at the front while smoothing everything out with a credit card. Then use a spray adhesive around the bend, continue up to the top and fold over the excess around back and stick with more adhesive spray.

To cut out the controls, I thinking of simply slicing an 'X' into the holes, folding back the excess to the bottom of the CP, and installing the controls.

What do you think?

[releasedtruth]

That's a tough one. I usually use application fluid and a squeegie for those types of manuevers and since it's metal that shouldn't be too tough for you. Even application of pressure and even speed are the key. Hold it firm as you squeegie it down for sure.

[the_77x42]

That's a tough one. I usually use application fluid and a squeegie for those types of manuevers and since it's metal that shouldn't be too tough for you. Even application of pressure and even speed are the key. Hold it firm as you squeegie it down for sure.

What exactly is application fluid? A mild soap and water solution?

[prOk]

Skip the water/liquid thing.

Most panels have button holes.. line up the cpo and put buttons in the holes. that will generally hold it in place.  Then, fine tune the lineup and use some painters tape to really hold the cpo in place.  Remove whatever buttons you need to, peel back and remove half of the backing.. slowly stick the cpo down.. once down, do the same on the other side.   It's really not difficult.. the hard part is taking the time to line it up.   The water method almost always leads to bubbles around bends and in corners that will crack over time as there's just no adhesion there. 

/b

[the_77x42]

It should be easier than that because this control panel is already cut to width, and there are no holes to lineup because it is a simple pattern. The hardest part is cutting the edge triangles out...

[the_77x42]

Just to give everyone an update:

I purchased my CPO from mamemarquees.com. Canadian customs held my shipment for almost a month, but it finally came through!

The quality of the vinyl itself is top notch and very thick. It came rolled up in a tube with a couple creases, but a couple hours under some heavy boxes and it was perfectly flat.

I was installing this vinyl onto a metal control panel from a Dynamo cab. Metal -- remember that. I cleaned the entire surface with rubbing alcohol and a lint-free rag.

I lined up the bottom of the overlay and taped the top (drawing) side of the vinyl down to the bottom of the control panel and to its back, so the artwork formed a kind of hinge. I peeled back about two inches of the backing and held everything tight while my buddy pressed down on the vinyl with a plastic scraper wrapped in a rag (I assume a credit card would work fine, we used a Bondo applicator). We continued applying the vinyl, about an inch or two at a time.

Now here is the coolest part -- because the control panel was metal and because it was so clean, the vinyl could be peeled back and reattached at any point! This meant that the couple times we came across an air bubble, we simply peeled back and redid that part. I hope that over time the glue will harden better, but man, it sure was easy to apply -- with no air bubbles as a result!

As for the button holes, excess around the edges, and the triangle-Dynamo sides, we simply took a utility knife and followed the metal edges around everything. Since the vinyl was so thick, we also used a Sharpie to colour in the vinyl edge from white to black.

The end result is amazing, and I was surpised how easy it was to appy!

[WunderCade]

So let me gets this straight....you could muster a pic of the before, but you aren't gonna show us the result? That's just wrong!

[Aurich]

Hmmm, I'm going to do the same thing (MAMEMarquees CPO onto powdercoated metal) and I can't say that I'm too happy to hear that you could peel it up so easily. Great that it helped you, but I wouldn't want my overlay to start peeling up a month after I put it on. How secure does it feel to you now?

If it's not too much trouble what I would very much love to see is a JPEG of your artwork (the original source file itself) along with a photo of your newly applied CPO just to compare the printing quality (the colors mostly). My understanding is that the protective finish is supposed to have been improved this year so that it dulls the colors less, but I haven't seen anyone post a picture on artwork+photo to compare yet.

Thanks for posting your experience. 

[the_77x42]

Okay, okay... sorry about not posting these sooner

The marquee is: http://www.mamemarquees.com/lightning-marquee-from-p-216.html
The control panel: http://www.mamemarquees.com/black-with-blue-lightning-control-panel-from-p-194.html

No, this is not my original artwork. The print colours are IDENTICAL to the ones on the site. Well, actually the CP is purple on the site's image, but it is really blue like the marquee. I checked with Scott before this and he assured me that the CP print out was blue -- and it was.

As for it peeling up after a month, right now it is on there pretty solid. I was moving it all over the place when  I was installing the buttons and bolting it to the computer tray and there were no corners or edges peeling away. It feels like it was painted on.

Anyway, here are the pictures:
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/895/img2327im6.jpg
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/1691/img2322qg9.jpg
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/2296/img2324kv8.jpg
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/7539/img2326ai6.jpg
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/6813/img2325da8.jpg

You will notice that the marquee looks a little faded. That's because it's behind 1/8" Plexi and it's hard to photo. Also it's not backlight as in 'real life' it's as bright as I want it.

Now I have to say this because I'm sure that there are going to be haters out there who are going to comment saying that my cab is unoriginal and the result of someone with too much money. I'll reply to this now:

The intent behind the project was to create a piece of furniture that could fit in a living room without too much attention being drawn to it. I didn't want it to be flashy; I wanted it to be clean. If you think that simply restoring an old Dynamo is somehow cheating -- try it. In the end we decided it would have been much easier to build this thing from scratch. The bondo work alone took two weeks.

Anyway, neat little things about the cabinet that contribute to the overall 'cleaness' of it:

- A SmartStrip powerbar turns off the monitor and speakers when the computer shuts down
- The computer shuts down by simply inserting a quarter (or pressing the corresponding shift key) while in the front end (AdvanceMENU)
- The whole thing starts up by simply pressing the P1 Start button
- There is no bezel -- instead we spray painted the glass and spun it around so the painted side faces the flatscreen monitor and mounted it about an 1/8" away from the screen

I'd love to hear your comments!

[Aurich]

Looks great, thanks for the photos, that's helpful. No question that the overlay seems to fade the colors somewhat (the black is more grey for instance), but it's hard to tell from the photos how bad it really is. Price you pay for protection I guess.

[the_77x42]

Yes, the black on the CPO is more of a dark, dark grey, especially contrasted with the black buttons. I suppose the purist could do plexi overtop of less-durable art, but I do prefer straight vinyl. Honestly, I never noticed the grey, but I think it may be slightly exaggerated in some of the picutres. I suppose you can always request a sample from Scott (mamemarquees)

[Aurich]

Plexi isn't even an option for me if I wanted it (which I don't). This is a midway curved metal CP where the art is going to wrap around a bend. No worries, I'll probably just take it for a spin myself, thanks for the feedback.

[the_77x42]

I was planning on using it myself but never did, but if you are concerned about the vinyl coming up, you can use a 3M Spray Adhesive around the edges. I don't think it is a problem though as there is still no 'lifting'.