[Re: scotchtal]

[List, Christopher]

Hey this is EXTACTLY what I did two years ago for the majority of my
homemade panels, including my sequencer. I used this stuff called
"Enviro-tech Lite" that I get at art supply stores or the plastic stores on
Canal Street. It's a two-part clear epoxy that comes in big bottles. 
The good things are; 
-	it is that it doesn't dissolve (and smear) the laser printing 
-	it's (literally) rock solid
-	you can drill through it with no problem - makes nice clean holes.

The bad things are;
-	it has yellowed slightly with age
-	it's a little messy to work with

For most of the small panels, I'd;
1. Glue on the laser printed label
2. Lay the panel on top of a piece of clear mylar (for overhead
transparencies) on a flat surface. Expoxy will not stick to mylar.
3. Pour on the epoxy - just enough to cover it and bead at the edges,
surface tension usually keeps it from flowing over the edges
4. Let it dry for about 15 minutes
5. Lay a piece of clear mylar on top - slowly from one side to the other -
while it's still wet. The mylar will float about 1/16" above the panel on a
layer of exopy, and the some of the epoxy will now flow over the edges. This
gives a square flat finish.
6. Let it dry overnight.
7. In the morning, rip off the mylar (with a satisfying snap!) and use a
razor to trim away the epoxy that's flowed over the edges. The epoxy is
still a little soft at this point, but by the end of the day, it's rock
solid.

For the big sequencer panel, too big for putting mylar on top, I made a
"wall" out of modeling clay around the panel and made a "pool" of epoxy over
the whole panel. Then I flipped a baking pan over it to keep dust from
getting on it while it dried. It came out great, though a little thick
towards one of the corners. Sounds just like what you describe with the
tables!

In retrospect, while I think this technique is one of the most durable of
those requiring minimal tools and readily available supplies (assuming you
can find this epoxy stuff near you) - I think it's way too much work
compared with the (less durable) "laminate the image at a photoshop and glue
it to the panel" method that I use today.

I would like to look into the Brady laser printer products, to check the
quality of the adhesives and the durability, but I'm not building any
modules from scratch these days, so it'll be a while...  
http://www.bradyid.com/brady/isdwebv1.nsf/pages/z-OC


- CList


> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Paul Perry [SMTP:pfperry at melbpc.org.au]
> Sent:	Monday, April 26, 1999 10:07 AM
> To:	synth-diy at mailhost.bpa.nl
> Subject:	RE: [Re: scotchtal]
> 
> At 09:04 AM 26/04/99 -0400, List, Christopher wrote:
>  You'd do just as well with normal
> >self-adhesive laser printer paper and clear contact paper from the local
> >office supply store. Note that I'm just using that as a comparison - you
> >won't get a durable synth using that method either!
> >
> Back in my chem lab days, once a year the benchtops (wooden) were scraped
> down and 
> a putty rim built around the edge, then a thin layer of 2-part clear
> urethane mix
> poured on. This set like a rock, certainly better than the cheap watch I'm
> wearing.
> I've seen this done with old timber for 'arty' wipe-down tables in cafes.
> 
> So I imagine something could be done with a synth panel, even if the
> printing was 
> just done on paper. Also, it would be possible to drill this stuff when
> set,
> unlike a normal 'paper glued on' panel where the drill tends to rip the
> paper
> around the hole & make a real mess.
> 
> paul perry melbourne australia