Applying CPOs

Before you even think about applying a control panel covering to you control panel, there are a few things you should know; proper use of an x-acto blade, how to line up the holes on your CP with those on a pre-printed overlay, and proper adhesive techniques. Most of it's pretty easy.

How to use an exacto.

Duh.. right? Maybe not. It's easy to ruin a $40 CPO with an errant cut. Using your exacto the right way may save you some time and cash. Always use a new blade every time you do a new CPO. If you feel like you nicked some metal, concrete or a screw... put a new blade on while you're cutting the CPO. They're cheap, and they need to be absolutely razor sharp to get a great cut. Also, it's better to make several light cuts than 1 deep cut. Using lots of pressure is a good way to miss and overshoot the cut, especially when doing a circle. Using 1 light cut to begin breaking the fibers apart on the CPO, and then successive light cuts to finish it up is the best way to execute a perfect cut. Generally where perfection matters, making a series of about 5-15 light, light cuts, rather than 1 through and through cut may take a bit more time, but will generally provide a better cut. Plus if you over shoot once, it's easy to correct on successive cuts, without the mistake being super obvious.

How to line up the holes on your printed cp with your control panel

The best method is to get your CPO printed, and then use the registration marks (little x's in the middle of the blank button areas) or the button / joystick center points as guides for cutting your contol panel. you can lay the CPO on top of your wood or metal blank, and use any type of scratching or poking devise to put drill points on your control panel. Once you've drilled your CP, you can easily align the holes on your CPO with the holes on the CP.

If you are going to send a custom CPO design to a printer and you already cut your control panel, you can, a. recut the control panel to match your design, b. do a low-res scan of your control panel and move the holes on your CPO design around to match, or c. take tons of measurements of your control panel, and adjust the holes on your CP design to match up with those measurements, print out a low res version to confirm the design is indeed correct.

Heating Helps

Heating up your CPO with a hairdryer or heatgun if you know how to use it sparingly, will help the material lay flat, bend around corners, stretch and flatten better than the material at room temperature.

Staples, tacks & adhesive

Use staples or carpet tacks to help hold a control panel overlay in place while the adhesive is drying. This will ensure that your CPO does not come up, especially if you applied it over tightly angled corners. Use a light to medium amount of adhesive. You want the material tacky, not wet, to insure that it dries in a timely manner, and will not shift while it's drying, If you used staples, a light amount of adhesive will have no problem keeping your CPO down forever. Spray adhesive like 3M Super 77 works fine. Using a brush applied adhesive may provide a little more glue than you need. Photo mount adhesive is not recommended, as it is not meant for permanent fixed adhesion.

Printed Vinyl Overlays

If you have purchased a CPO from ebay, a reseller, arcade auction, and are ready to apply it to your control panel, you can apply it like so;

1. If your CP is wood, and the edges are sharp, use a hasp to slightly round off edges of your CP on all sides.
2. Make sure your holes are already drilled, any necessary mounting plates are installed
3. Remove any extra material from your CPO so it only overlap's the CP on all sides by a few inches. You may want to cut the overlay almost flush with the sides so that there is no overlap on the sides. Make sure you have material overlapping the front & back, however.
4. Make sure you have tiny guide holes cut in your CPO so that you can easily align the CP holes.
5. Lay CPO face down on flat, smooth surface. If it is vinyl, or laminated paper, you may want to heat it up slightly with a hair dryer before continuing. If it happens to be a simple sticker, heating up should not be necessary
6. Spray a light-medium amount of glue or spray-adhesive to the underside of the CPO.
7. Line up CP holes with CPO guilde markes.Lay the CP face down on the exposed underside of the CPO.
8. Wrap 1 side of the CPO 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 CPO, stretch slightly, wrap around front side, staple (make sure to fold the corners in before you staple).
11. Stretch sides (if you did not already cut them flush) 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 CPO... 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 CPO 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.

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;

CPO Back

CPO Front

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.