In the process of making control panels for my layout.
Came across one method that I liked (unfortunately I don’t remember where I saw the idea - apologies to the inventor) of using 1/4" clear acrylic and printing out diagrams drawn in Powerpoint or word processing software on a color printer and affixing them.
Works very well. Unfortunately the adhesive I’m using (3M Super 77 Spray) to glue the 8.5x11 to the acrylic sheet doesn’t seem to cure clear as photo shows (no, it’s not bad lighting or dust - it’s the adhesive).
Anyone know of an alternative to the 3M that will dry/cure clear enough (and not craze the acrylic)? I like the method but need it to look better.
Can’t see it, but have to ask. Why use adhesive? The ones I’ve seen simply sandwich the track diagram between the panel backing and the clear cover. Maybe you have a different approach. In any case, you could try a minimal amount of canopy glue, maybe just at the corners?
Unfortunately Your links don’t work…but I have to agree with Mike, use the sandwich method. Also you don’t mention what kind of switches you have in mind to use. You better check to see if they have a long enough shaft to fit through a 1/4 inch piece and still be able to put a nut on the end to affix to your panel…like in a miniature toggle switch. Some have even less than a 1/4, no room for a nut. I would look at what kind of hardware you will be putting on it first, before choosing a thickness. Like two thinner pieces sandwiched together.
Your choice…My experience building DC Lexan Plastic control panels.
How do you apply the 3M Super 77 Spray? To the acrylic sheet or to the printed diagram?
I make the track diagrams on Powerpoint, then spray the paper with 3M Super 77 Spray, and then carefully but quickly apply the paper diagram to a piece of 1/8" thick Lexan.
It comes out clear for me. Initially, I sprayed the Lexan and then applied the paper to the Lexan, but that caused problems including cloudiness.
Applied directly to the paper and sprayed quickly and evenly from a distance of 12 inches, the coverage is even and thin. Sprayed directly to the Lexan, the temptation is to spray to heavily, and I think that is what causes the cloudiness.
If you’re going to use clear acrylic, then sandwiching your diagram is the right answer. None of the adhesives with which I have experience (and I think I’ve tried most everything available over the years) is going to dry both crystal clear AND distortion free. Unless you’re prepared to tolerate some imperfections, the sandwich method is your best shot. You could still apply a small bead of Weld Bond around the outside edge to help keep things in place.
This is why I made mine the way I did: 1/4" lauan plywood. I sealed and sanded it twice to a silky finish, then painted it with green interior latex house paint. When that had dried, I used yellow Chart-Pak tape to apply the track diagram. It’s a little fiddly, but you get the hang of it. Then I covered the whole thing with 3 coats of clear polyurethane. When that was dry, I installed the switch contollers and LEDs.
LION has made many “control panels” over the years. The first serious one I made was on plexiglass. I used tape on the backside to mark out the tracks and then painted the backside black. After the paint dried, I carefully removed the tape and sprayed the routes white. (Use a black background for a GRS board or a green background for a US&S product.) This worked very well, but was not ameinable to route changes.
On my next layout I used a tempered hard board painted green. I applied strips 1/4" x 1/8" bass wood to mark the routes, and painted the wood white. When I needed to change a route, I could scrape off or add wood as needed, touch up the paint, and fill any unwanted holes with putty. That worked very well.
On my present layout, I went all out on the control system, after all the trains are automated, and so there are not throttles or reversing switches to be found. This is my intrepretation of a GRS Model-5 intelocking machine.
The strip showing the tracks is printed on sheets of label paper using a laser printer. The row of toggle switches were for holding trains. Those have since been removed in favor of an automatic system.
Here is the “motherboard” of the LION, each station stop (signal block) has a pair of relays and these are activated by magnetic reed switches embedded in the track. Each block has five wires connecting to this motherboard. These supply the aspect of the signal, the train detector, and a cutout so that a train may not pass a signal at danger.
The final part of this installation is the model-board, and while that has no switches, it does have lamps to mark the location and movement of the trains. This is tied into the motherboard, getting its signal from the red lamp in the previous block. (Simple, yes?)
