Replacement stencils for controls

[worzella]

I know Stella's owner is selling replacement stencils for the shift pattern on the dash, but does anyone know of a source for the stencils that go above the buttons for things like the lighter, main light switch, rear defrost?

I just spent all night cleaning and Vinylex'ing my dash and now the worst thing on it (besides the cracks !) are the chipped stencils.

Thanks,

Randy

[Scott Sislane]

hmmm, so we can actually make stencils at work with our vinyl cutter. I was brain cramping yesterday on how to re-print the lettering around the dash knobs... i should see if our cutter can cut with that small detail. If it can, then re-painting or re-inking the lettering would work very nicely.

I'm referring to a plastic stencil with the lettering cut-out, and you would carefully paint over the stencil, and ink would go through to the surface... you'd have to wash-off the old lettering with acetone probably.

anyone else attempted/done this??

thinking about it further, we even have inks for printing on vinyl, which is an air dry ink. It would take 2-3 coats to cover the black, so it wouldn't show through the white.

[Guest Anonymous]

had a better choice than the US) and get the knobs with the icons on them to show function and use something to remove the worn letters on the dash.

shermanmartinez@hotmail.com

[Scott Sislane]

had a better choice than the US) and get the knobs with the icons on them to show function and use something to remove the worn letters on the dash.

shermanmartinez@hotmail.com

it wouldn't look right on 74-76. Also, have you ever tried removing the knobs from those shafts? I think they're on for life.

[eurotrash]

On your template, maybe have a hole for the shaft of the pull switch to locate the lettering in the proper location..

[Scott Sislane]

On your template, maybe have a hole for the shaft of the pull switch to locate the lettering in the proper location..

just a rough idea what I was thinking. and just cut a slit on on eside to slip around the shafts, except the lighter wouldn't need to be cut.

[02Les]

it wouldn't look right on 74-76. Also, have you ever tried removing the knobs from those shafts? I think they're on for life.

Euro style knobs look quite at home on a '74-'76.

Also, mine anyway, are easy to remove. Just unscrew.

[auggiemize]

...and you might want to test acetone, etc, on an inconspicuous under side spot to make sure that it doesn't eat the sheen on the vinyl. Dave V. in NC

[Scott Sislane]

...and you might want to test acetone, etc, on an inconspicuous under side spot to make sure that it doesn't eat the sheen on the vinyl. Dave V. in NC

we've used it on vinyl at work (acetone) and you do have to be careful with how much you use, or you are correct, it can remove the finish. we also mix acetone w. xylol to calm it down a bit. Maybe just using a mild solution could be better, like denatured alcohol.

[MrNvgtr]

I think we're just about covered here, but when I was deep into the Z3 community, someone had a line on some cool stock controls with "Eject" or something similar written on them. Their source might be worth checking out. A search of the Roadfly/Bimmerforums Z3 forums might yield the thread I'm thinking of from like 6 years ago. These were matted black blastic buttons with a thin white script/symbol stamped on.

[Guest Anonymous]

On the subject of removing the exiting printed lettering from the black vinyl....I found that a spray lubricant made by 'Elmer" a small spray can with orange lettering for drawer slides, etc. (supposed to be silicone spray lube) removed the lettering. It happened accidentally causing the need for a reprinting of OEM letters. If you try to lubricate the switch becareful of the overspray! And the vinyl underneath was not dissolved. Just the lettering.