Re: poor man's decal

Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:

On 4/2/2025 10:23 AM, Liz Tuddenham wrote:

Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:
 

On 4/2/2025 7:57 AM, Liz Tuddenham wrote:

[...]

Usually the entire surface and a bit beyond, then trim off the excess.

>
Doesn't that make it hard to remove?  Or, are yours "small(er)"?
(Note my smallest is 8x17 and they quickly get larger)

 
Most of mine are on die-cast boxes about 4" x 6".  There is always a
layer of double-sided tape showing at the cut edge, so it can be prised
open at the corner with a knife or similar imstrument.

 
Hmmmm... the exemplar you provided seemed to be larger than that (?)

That's the biggest one I have made, about the size of an A4 sheet of
paper; I chose it because the picture of it it was the easiest to find.
There's a rather poor picture of a smaller one at:
<http://www.poppyrecords.co.uk/other/Microphones/StereoCrossedRibbons/In
structions.pdf>

I was
assuming I would need a low tack adhesive -- almost like Post-It
notes...

 
There is an adhesive called "Copydex" in the U.K., which is a latex
emulsion that becomes rubbery when the water component evaporates.  "Low
tack" would be a polite way of describing it - the problem isan't
removing it, but getting it to stay on in the first place.  I have used
it to stick paper copies of the artwork onto the  front panel to use as
a drilling jig, then it can be peeled off easily.  The latex tended to
wrap itself around the drill bit  . . . followed by the paper label.

 
Yes, we have similar adhesives ("rubber cement", etc.).

There are some very strong rubber cements with organic solvents, Copydex
is a water-based emulsion and is very weak.

[...]

But, some applications deliberately want low tack (e.g., in masking
artwork)

That's the sort of thing Copydex is used for, you can rub it off with
finger pressure.

[...]

I used a spray adhesive to repair a headliner.  Granted, it's not
a heavy weight to support.  *But*, it is "upside down" perpetually
(so, gravity is trying to pull it off) and very large (a dozen square
feet?).

The area shouldn't matter, for every extra square foot of material there
is an extra square foot of adhesive.

[...]

I opted for the 7 mil variety of laminating film as it adds a bit
more armor (3 mil is just cosmetic; 5 mil is probably marginal;
10 mil is probably overkill)

My sheets are 0.004" thick, a bit flimsy by your standards.

[...]

(I have nothing
stronger than xylene and MEK on hand

Either of those should work.

[...]

After fixing the acetate sheet I burn them through with a soldering
iron, then trim up the flash with a rat-tailed file (file towards the
panel, never away from it).  On that particular piece of equipment, I
may have cut around the meter hole with a knife because it is rather
large.

 
A *pointed* Xacto knife isn't suitable for the whole task?  Or, do you risk
the cut "tearing"/"running" through the acetate to areas undesired?

The holes produced that way tend to be jagged and the knife is soon
blunted by cutting into the aluminium panel.  A soldering iron gives a
nice smooth finish but throws up a 'flash' of melted material which is
easily trimmed off with a file.  It is a quicker and more accurate
process than trying to cut tiny circles with a knife.  The knife is good
for trimming excess tape off the outside edges.


--
~ Liz Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk