Front Panel Tips and Tricks......                                home

I don't etch my aluminum panel prior to painting.  After the cutting and drilling is done, I use an orbital sander with 220g, and then wet sand by hand with 400 grit.  I usually do this in the kitchen sink, so I can run water continuously over the work.  It is best to do this when the wife is not home.  Forgiveness is easier to come by than permission.

When sanding is complete, wash the panel down with hot water and a clean cloth.  Don't use soap or detergent--it will leave a film.  Once the panel is dry, I wipe it off with a lint-free cloth, fan it in the air to remove any dust, and spray paint it.

Small paint jobs are much easier to do with either a pre-packaged aerosol can (in which case I would use Krylon) or with a PreVal portable sprayer.  I use the PreVal because I can get paint mixed to match what I want.

As a rule, I do not use primer.  The freshly sanded panel, if painted promptly, has little time to begin forming a film which might inhibit adhesion of the paint.  Having the panel warm when painted also promotes flowing and drying.

With the panel laying flat on an elevated surface and in a well-lighted, dust-free area, begin painting.  Start at the upper left and, with the nozzle 6 inches or so away,  go straight across the upper edge of the panel in a sweeping motion, better too fast than too slow.  Watch the paint as it "lands" on the panel.  Keep it wet, but move fast enough to avoid piling it up.  Painting from side to side, start the spray as your sweep approaches the beginning edge and stop the spray as you leave the far edge.  Then come back.  Watch the overlap between sweeps.  Keep it wet and shiny.  Avoid dull "dry spray".  You'll see what I mean.

Slow-drying paint is more forgiving of technique, but the longer it's wet, the dustier it will get.  I prefer fast drying types for this reason.

Freshly dried paint often has an oily film on its surface that dry transfers don't like.  It's a 

good idea to gently clean the panel with Windex and a very soft cloth prior to applying the dry transfer labels.  

This might be a good time to mention that DATAK has a wide variety of dry transfer products, including electronic words, dial markings and meter faces.  Most of the popular supply houses distribute Datak products.  Office supply stores are also a good source for dry transfers.

Instructions for use are given in all the dry transfer packages I've seen.  Basically, it's just a matter of positioning the transfer over the right place on the panel and rubbing it with a burnishing tool of some sort.  I use a wooden chopstick from a chinese restaurant.  If it looks OK, lay the burnishing paper over the transfer and rub it again to make it stick.  If it doesn't look OK (here's a trick) take a little piece of Scotch tape, put it down on the letters that need to be removed and peel them off.  Then you can start over.

I've seen instructions to use fingernails or razor blades to lift the errors off, but this is ruinous on soft fresh paint. Save yourself some grief.  Use the tape.

Now that you've got the panel dressed up and lettered, you need to make sure it stays that way.

The best way to do that is to spray several coats of clear Krylon over the panel.  Don't try to spot paint only the lettering because you'll screw up all that hard work.  Coat the whole panel.

But first.....

If you attempt to spray a full, wet coat on the panel for the 1st coat, some of the letters will float and change position.  The 1st, 2nd and possibly 3rd coats should be very light with the spray nozzle held slightly farther from the panel.  After these coats dry for a few minutes, they will act to protect the lettering, so the later coats may be increasingly wetter.

By the way, on the subject of spraying, you can get a real 1st rate job using a spray can if it has the right nozzle pattern.  Home Depot sells packets of four nozzles for a couple bucks.  Two of them produce a vertical fan pattern.  Those are best for panel and cabinet work.    

                          73 and GL,  Phil K4DPK