Panel Rehab

[Rodney]

Question about taking a panel and refurbishing it. Painting it is no problem the issue is the lettering for the knob positions etc that is not very deep and white (panel is grey). Any one have any good idea's? I have thought about just painting it and then digging out the letters and repainting them painstakingly white. I want to have it look like its not 40 years old.

[phil744]

With the really old panels I have what they have done during refurb is to closly mask the area around the artwork and simply spray (hand brush sometimes) the entire panel then remove the masking. looks scruffy close up but from a distance they appear OK

[Michael Carter]

The manufacturers who refurb the panels just mask over letters and paint with as close of a color as they can. Several of mine are this way. Others are original and look pretty good, others look like they could be 40 years old but still serviceable.

I only have one brand new un-installed (in a real 727) lightplate.

You could try using a mixure of dishwashing detergent and Elmer's Glue in a 1:3 ratio with a drop of food coloring so you can see it. I used to mask canopy glass for painting frames when I built scale models. Use a 00 camel hair brush and paint the letters with this concoction.

It's going to be very time consuming using this method, but I can't think of any other way to do it and still paint the entire panel except for the lettering.

The stuff will peel off after you're done. A Q-tip with some water can help if some gets stuck, or you can use a toothpick.

[tomenglish2000]

This is just an idea that I had and so is completely un tested. Use at your own risk!

Could you not get some wax and melt it onto the lettering, then using a knife (careful!) remove the excess so that the letters are filled with wax. Then you could paint. After just use a heat source to remove the wax.

If the heat used will damage the panels then how about plastercine or modeling clay?

Tom.

[phil744]

This is just an idea that I had and so is completely un tested. Use at your own risk!

Could you not get some wax and melt it onto the lettering, then using a knife (careful!) remove the excess so that the letters are filled with wax. Then you could paint. After just use a heat source to remove the wax.

If the heat used will damage the panels then how about plastercine or modeling clay?

Tom.

Hmm, possably, but i would imagine the wax will dissolve in the paint,

one other option is to use very fine sandpaper, P1800 >P2500 and lightly rub the panel to clean, wash with soap and water let it dry then give it a clear coat of Plastcote satin lacquer to restor the matt finish.

[Philb737]

Rodney,
If you ever painted an RC plane with multiple colours, you know how hard and time consuming it can be! I discovered using Liquid Masking Film can save you hours of masking the old fashion way. It's simple to use and it works! Make sure to apply a very thin coat to the letter engravings and then spray as if you were spraying a normal coat! Let the paint dry, and simply rub off the Liquid Masking Film with your fingers.
Here is a toll free number to the company: 1-800-752-1650 ext. 23

[Rodney]

Thanks Gentelmen,

Those are all good idea's. Not sure at this point which way I will go, but may try all of them to see which on will work best for my panel. The white lettering is all for the bleed through for backlighting too, so I'm a little cautious. This is for my SP-150 autopliot panel. I am repainting my throttle unit, getting new decals made and want to set it off with anything that gets stuffed to look as good.

[dc6driver]

Hi Rodney,

If lettering is recessed the following is what I did.
First paint the panel and let dry, then use a small artist paint brush and paint the lettering . I just smeared the paint in and used a damp cloth to wipe the excess off letting that dry and repeated until it was filled in. The first couple times the damp cloth took some of the white paint off so it may take a few coats to fill in the lettering. Attached is a picture of my landing gear handle as an example.

Fritz

[Rodney]

Thanks Fritz,
Your panel looks good. The recessed area of my panel is real shallow so my concern is having to dig out grey paint to get it white again for the backlighting. But if I was a gambling man, I'm betting that any method I use that repainting the letters will be via small paintbrush.

[Michael Carter]

If you are going to have to repaint, you may as well try one of the masking techniques.