New A/C Panel Design Prototype - Thoughts/Suggestions?

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Originally Posted by kajcienski

...I have made a prototype light panel that uses super bright LEDs (tuned to the desired light intensity with resistors) offering incredibly even lighting, long life, and very little heat...

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that is wicked sweet. :headbang:

looking forward to seeing some pictures!

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Originally Posted by kajcienski

All systems "go" and I have reached the final hurdle (a biggie) - the HVAC panel graphic overlay. I'm not sure if anyone else has had experience in this area, but have found it incredibly difficult to find a proper graphic overlay specialist to agree to take on this project. I did get one quote from a respected company but it ended up over the 3k mark to produce 5 prototypes. Yikes! This price even included the fact that I had prepared all of the design files. Unless I can convince 30 people to commit, I just can't see that being a rational choice especially since the whole fun of this project is finding creative ways to make it work low cost. So, I have ventured out into the "do-it-yourself graphic overlay" arena and might have cracked it, or at least found a respectable solution.

After a ton of research and experimenting with different materials, the following is what I have come up with:

I found a special high heat resistant 4mil polyester film used in silk screening (polyester or vinyl is also used for true graphic overlays) that comes "frosted" or rather "textured" on one or both sides - also compatible with laser Epson ink cheap from InkJetSuperStore.com. The texturing helps with toner adhesion and gives the decal the correct surface look. What I then did is I printed the reverse image of the AC panel graphic on the 8.5 X 11 film sheet using a laser printer. While this does not result in an overlay with the exact surface texture the original DeLorean decal had, it matches the texture and look of more modern car decals and am very happy with the outcome.

Now in terms of getting the image to look and perform correctly when illuminated, I had to go through several steps.

For the colored graphics on the overlay, it looked great after printing when placing the overlay on a white surface. Remember that for any graphic that is white in color, the printer went sans toner and is meant to rely on the white paper it is printed on. The black toner meant to block out light looked perfectly even but when shining light through it, the light bled quite a bit. To fix this, I simply altered the main graphics file so that all graphics were white and therefore left the first pass of color alone and only used black toner where needed. After running the film sheet through the printer 5 more times (again, only printing the areas where I needed the light to be blocked), I had achieved total "black-out" and no light penetration through the desired area. Now I have a "decal" that looks great sitting on a white sheet of paper but clear in spots that are suppose to be white and washed out in colored areas (due to the small amount of toner) when held up to the light or when backlit.

The next step is building up the light gels to adhere to the back of the polyester film to make it look color correct in daylight AND when backlit. As I just mentioned, the printed decal looks correct but needs a white surface to achieve the true color in areas where there is a thin layer of color toner meant to be backlit and white where there is no toner at all. I turned to a heavily frosted diffusion light gel as the next layer. This will not only take care of the needed white layer but will help with even light distribution. However, the decal will still look "washed out" when held up to the light again due to the micro thin toner.

To fix the "washed out" look when lit, matching color gels must be used as the 3rd layer to the decal to provide a rich color when backlit. Living in Manhattan, I was lucky to have a super mega supplier of light gels and took my time matching gels to each of the desired colors. This 3rd layer gave the overlay the correct look when lit - brilliant!

The last step (which I am currently on) is to adhere all 3 layers permanently and cut it out. Since the film and gels are meant to withstand high heat (and assuming the adhesive can do the same), I don't anticipate any issues with car heat deforming the decal. I am planning to throw the finished decal into my other car and let it bake for a month to be sure.

I'll follow up with step-by-step pictures after finishing it up in the next week or two - assuming I don't botch up the adhesive and cutting the darn thing out. Wish me luck!



For fun, here are the presentation blueprints for the decal I am going to go uber nerd on and hang in the garage.

http://www.dreamartists.com/FINAL-De...eLorean-4a.pdf

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Well I don't have a specific printer for printing blueprints but I do go to a friend's place for me to print for. How much does a blueprint printer cost by the way?

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Originally Posted by nelshaun

Well I don't have a specific printer for printing blueprints but I do go to a friend's place for me to print for. How much does a blueprint printer cost by the way?

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Blueprints were done exposing a translucent original to special paper behind it. It's not something that is done anymore since computer printers or plotters are capable of making better and cheaper copies.

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Originally Posted by nelshaun

Well I don't have a specific printer for printing blueprints but I do go to a friend's place for me to print for. How much does a blueprint printer cost by the way?

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Although after more testing and now having modified certain materials and processes, I do the printing on a color laser. Not sure how a blueprint printer got into the question. There is one specific company that is producing the velvet/matte poly needed for the correct decal look that uses a coating specific to laser toner adhesion. What I found is that without this adhesive coating, the toner would separate from the poly if handled or bent a fair amount. The layering I described has also changed after testing. When I have some time, I will post up my final step-by-step. More information can be found in my "black decal" thread.

What is the status of this project??

Project done and looks fantastic! I'll post the final design pics soon. I ended up going with a version of the original graphics that in the end, looks much better than my previous design. Very happy with it!

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Originally Posted by kajcienski

project done and looks fantastic! I'll post the final design pics soon. I ended up going with a version of the original graphics that in the end, looks much better than my previous design. Very happy with it!

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pictures

Will post pics soon. On another note and terribly annoying (attention moderators), the guy with the handle "nelshaun" added to my quote a few posts back and stuck in a reference to a printing supply website (he is the one that mentioned blueprint printers off topic). That was NOT part of the original post that he quoted. I can't believe these guys are going to the trouble to go on a DeLorean forum!

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Originally Posted by kajcienski

Will post pics soon. On another note and terribly annoying (attention moderators), the guy with the handle "nelshaun" added to my quote a few posts back and stuck in a reference to a printing supply website (he is the one that mentioned blueprint printers off topic). That was NOT part of the original post that he quoted. I can't believe these guys are going to the trouble to go on a DeLorean forum!

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Come on Matt, everyone knows we DeLorean owners are influential and wealthy with large social circles... perfect marketing targets... :lol:

Seriously though, I'm dying to see how far you can go with this. The project looks so great. And I stand behind my suggestion to put your overlay development skills into reproducing earlier style decals and headlight/hazard switches... :)

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Originally Posted by kajcienski

Will post pics soon. On another note and terribly annoying (attention moderators), the guy with the handle "nelshaun" added to my quote a few posts back and stuck in a reference to a printing supply website (he is the one that mentioned blueprint printers off topic). That was NOT part of the original post that he quoted. I can't believe these guys are going to the trouble to go on a DeLorean forum!

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Anxious to see the pics (...there is one in my shop now that's hard to read).

fyi, I banned nelshaun back in September...