Applying CPOs
Vinyl / Pleather Overlays
You can use inexpensive, off-the-shelf vinyl/pleather to cover your control panel, for a total cost of less than $8. Here are steps to guide you through the process of applying a vinyl overlay;
1. Go to fabric store, by cheap & supple vinyl, usually $3.50 to $7.00 per yard. 1 Yard of material is enough to cover at least 2 control panels. 2. If your CP is wood, and the edges are sharp, use a hasp to slightly round off edges of your CP on all sides. 3. Make sure your holes are already drilled, any necessary mounting plates are installed 4. Cut vinyl to overlap CP on all sides by a few inches. 5. Lay vinyl face down. You may want to heat it up slightly with a hair dryer before continuing. 6. Spray a light-medium amount of glue or spray-adhesive to the underside of the vinyl 7. lay the CP face down on the exposed underside of the vinyl. 8. Wrap 1 side of the vinyl around the back / bottom of the CP. (make sure to fold the corners in.) 9. Staple or carpet tack that 1 side. 10. Grab opposite side of the vinyl, stretch slightly, wrap around front side, staple (make sure to fold the corners in before you staple). 11. Stretch ends slightly and wrap around to bottom of CP, fold corners in, staple (Make sure top is smooth, wrinkle free first) 12. Let glue dry. 13. Use new blade on x-acto knife to cut holes in vinyl... you can start with holes a bit smaller than they need to be... you can always cut more off, but you sure can't add more if it's gone. Your buttons, joystick dust washers, and spinners will overlap the vinyl just a bit, so your cuts don't have to be perfect. Cuts around your trackball WILL be exposed, so if you have a trackball, you want to make sure that cut is perfect.
Application
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