[Source] Old Lathe Name Plate restoration - printing.

Flyinfool said:
I am betting that that original plate is FotoFoil. The small text in the warning area is to fine for screening and way to small for vinyl. The red caution area could have been screen printed on. Fotofoil is an aluminum sheet that is black (or any color) anodized, and then a photo sensitive coating is applied, You use a contact process with a light source, (bright sunlight work great) to expose the sheet and then the "picture" is developed and the plate put into a etchant to remove the anodizing and expose the bare aluminum below. Fotofoil is available in up to .032 thickness you could then hand stamp in the DATE just like the original.

Then if you really want it to last, take it to an auto body shop and get it clear coated. Because it is so small they might even do it for near free as they have more clear than this left over from every job, as long as you are not in a hurry and they can fit it in when they have the oppertunity.
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Thanks for heads up on this...
 
If you can reproduce it on your computer, make sure that you are using a vector based software like a CAD program so that is is scaleable, You do not want to use a pixle based software like photo shop or paint. This is the only way to be sure it comes out the correct size.
 
Mr Mike said:
Excellent.. I going to call and get a quote. Thank you..
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Judging from the info on their site, You had better be sure to be sitting down when that quote arrives!!
I wonder if they have any items ready to ship.
 
finsruskw said:
Judging from the info on their site, You had better be sure to be sitting down when that quote arrives!!
I wonder if they have any items ready to ship.
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If $300.00 buck will get it done then I am good with that... Probably not thou... If not ill just recreate it and get a Vinyl printed.
 
I wanted a few plates made for a lathe I was restoring. After seeing the pics on the website I figured the were way out of my price range. They do nice work though.


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Pops said:
I wanted a few plates made for a lathe I was restoring. After seeing the pics on the website I figured the were way out of my price range. They do nice work though.

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Ill be calling Monday a company I found that says on their website they can print directly on aluminum, WhiteWall.com
 
If you happen to be a member of Garage Journal, member mattblast does this.
Link to one such post showing his skills. Not sure what his fee is.

Vintage Grinder Sticker Reproduction

A beat up old sticker on a newly restored grinder makes it look bad. Many restorations require that the label be removed (and destroyed in the process) to repaint. When I restore a grinder I go all out - sandblast, paint, new bearings, replace cord, replace rubber feet, etc. I want my old...
www.garagejournal.com www.garagejournal.com
 
Any decal place worth their salt should be able to repro almost any decal.
A had the complete decal set for my DanCo front end loader that's mounted on a Cub Cadet 149 re-produced from good photos and measurements from the originals.
 
There are several ways to DIY this. One is to create a photo mask and coat the target plate with a photoresist. The plate and mask are exposed to UV (sunlight, fluorescent, e.g.) light and the exposed plate developed. The plate is then etched with an appropriate echant. I used KPR and KPR3 in the past and still have some. It was messy and had to be used in a well ventilated but UV light proof space. More recently, I used a dry film resist. It is developed with a relatively benign alkaline developer. The materials are available on e-bay. https://www.ebay.com/b/dry-film/bn_7024778136

To make a photomask, I would do up the artwork in a suitable application and print it on a transparency. The mask would then be laid on the resist coated plate and a glass plate used to make good contact. The board was then exposed to the light source. Prior to exposing the plate, it is a good idea to make a test strip with different exposure times to determine the best exposure. Once exposed the plate is developed and then etched. If the etch is deep enough (determined by the etching time), the plate can be stripped of the exposed resist, cleaned, and painted. A careful sanding with a fine grit paper will remove the high spots leaving the artwork.

Another method that I have used more recently was to use a CNC laser to cut the artwork into a resist and then etch the plate. I did this for serializing my 1-2-3 blocks with great results. https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/etching-steel-using-a-2-5-watt-diode-laser.76262/ The elcect6rochemical process has teh advantage of not requiring the entire target to be masked for the etching process.
 
RJSakowski said:
There are several ways to DIY this. One is to create a photo mask and coat the target plate with a photoresist. The plate and mask are exposed to UV (sunlight, fluorescent, e.g.) light and the exposed plate developed. The plate is then etched with an appropriate echant. I used KPR and KPR3 in the past and still have some. It was messy and had to be used in a well ventilated but UV light proof space. More recently, I used a dry film resist. It is developed with a relatively benign alkaline developer. The materials are available on e-bay. https://www.ebay.com/b/dry-film/bn_7024778136

To make a photomask, I would do up the artwork in a suitable application and print it on a transparency. The mask would then be laid on the resist coated plate and a glass plate used to make good contact. The board was then exposed to the light source. Prior to exposing the plate, it is a good idea to make a test strip with different exposure times to determine the best exposure. Once exposed the plate is developed and then etched. If the etch is deep enough (determined by the etching time), the plate can be stripped of the exposed resist, cleaned, and painted. A careful sanding with a fine grit paper will remove the high spots leaving the artwork.

Another method that I have used more recently was to use a CNC laser to cut the artwork into a resist and then etch the plate. I did this for serializing my 1-2-3 blocks with great results. https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/etching-steel-using-a-2-5-watt-diode-laser.76262/ The elcect6rochemical process has teh advantage of not requiring the entire target to be masked for the etching process.
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Hello.. I am pretty sure the data plate on this Enco was printed, I use to etch circuit boards to make electronic timers, Very similar process as your describing above and you can feel the edges after etching was complete.

I could be wrong but this sure seems to be a direct print on aluminum. Thanks for pointing me to your Etching Steel Using a 2.5 watt Diode Laser.. your blocks came out very nice indeed...
 
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