On 2023/12/19 4:26 a.m., Tom Hunter via cctalk wrote:
I just realised that I never followed up on this.
After some research and a few phone calls to manufacturer support lines I
settled on SikaBond SprayFix as the glue.
...
The front panel has now been re-assembled and is fully functional and
beautiful. :-)
Might you have Before and After photos?
Sounds like this is a useful product to have in the shop!
Thanks,
John :-#)#
On Tue, Nov 7, 2023 at 9:33 AM Tom Hunter <ccth6...@gmail.com> wrote:
The PDP 11/34 and 11/04 front panels (both operator and programmer) use a
somewhat stiff plastic sheet of 1.0 mm thickness with DEC logo, model
designation, labels for the keys printed on it, cut-outs for the keypad and
knob and red transparent sections for LEDs and 6 digit 7-segment display.
I don't know what the industry calls this type of plastic sheet? Is it a
"decal"???
This plastic sheet is (was) fixed to an anodized aluminium plate (1.6 mm
thickness) using some type of glue which has deteriorated so that the
plastic sheet has separated from the aluminium plate.
The glue looks like it has been sprayed on and has a light yellowish-brown
appearance. The glue readily dissolves in ethyl-alcohol and acetone, but is
unaffected by water, petrol (gasoline) and dry cleaning fluid (white
spirits).
I would like to glue the plastic sheet back onto the aluminium plate, but
worry about damaging the plastic sheet and/or paint by the solvents in
typical glues.
Also some glues don't allow any adjustment once you combine the two halves
of whatever you glue together.
What type of plastic is this plastic sheet likely made of (polycarbonate?)
and what paint was used? I am asking to determine what solvent based glues
may attack either the plastic sheet or the painted surfaces.
The dark grey and transparent red paints are applied to the back side of
the plastic sheet, so they are vulnerable to solvent attack when glueing. I
tried ethyl-alcohol in one corner which is obscured by the cast metal
surround and some of the dark gray colour came off with the alcohol and
gentle rubbing.
Has anyone successfully glued back the plastic sheet to the aluminium
plate? If yes, what type of glue did you use and how exactly did you do the
operation?
Any suggestions, advice or tips?
Thanks and best regards
Tom Hunter
--
John's Jukes Ltd.
7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
Call (604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out"
