Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Homebrew PCBs

Toner transfers for front panels is the plan here too.:)

I did a bunch of experimenting on 1/8" aluminum. It doesn't transfer
exactly like the regular PCB stuff. I figured it was due to the
metal's ability to take in heat. The results were slightly
unpredictable here.

You'll be glad to know that I did find sort of a fix, by spraying a
light mist of clear acrylic (Krylon brand) over the metal beforehand.
It sort of "glued" the paper down to the sheet and helped grab the
toner. Not much heat or pressure was needed. I think I had crappy
results with a lacquer spray, so you may try different stuff. I'll
also be topcoating for protection.

Board labels have worked here too, but the varying surface on double
sided boards can screw things up pretty bad (there was a thread here a
little while ago).

If you didn't find out, the TRF rolls are only 6 or 7 dollars (usd)
through Digikey. I'm hoping the white will let me do white labels on
black panel. There's a decorative paper supplier on the web (www.
paperdirect.com), who has something similar. I think it sells in a
pack of sheets for $20. They've got weird colors like metallics and
stuff. They also do multi-color sample packs.

Take Care,
George

PS- Getting a bit wild one night, I tried toner to plastics and glass.
The glass split all to crap after it heated up, but a piece of
speckled, sand-colored formica took a good transfer. I really want to
do Lexan or Plexiglas. That was risky. The Lexan took a great transfer
on part of it, and got gooey with bubbles on the rest. It would
probably be a matter of getting the perfect heat/time down. I may try
it again with an acrylic coat and my new aluminum base plate on the
iron (could go a little better).