Back light switches

[akuchanny]

Hi all I have been trying to think of a way for ages to route out or cut out the letter shapes on my 61 saloons control knobs so I can back light them, I have already sorted how to get the cables sorted, by small channels for the small gauge wire in the stalks, then all connected as the other instruments to the light switchs first position, I also have some blue/ White small LEDs to fit under the knobs to provide light, I just need to find a way of cutting the letters out of the bakerlite.

My first experiment a year or so ago, was a total disaster, as I was working on a hazard switch (making it from an old wiper switch) it was going to be a few lines cut into the warning triangle style and a red led shining through the gaps, it ended as a. Hole of no descernable use at all.


Any help on how to cut the letters would be great as I want the mod to look almost as the factory intended.

[mike.perry]

Sorry but I think that this post should be on the Worst Accessory Ever posting - See General Discussion

[MarkyB]

I'd suggest going at this in a potentially simpler way, find some paint that will fluoresce using LED light, then mount an LED in the interior light shining through a small aperture onto the switches.

The paint might not even need to fluoresce, just white could be enough.

Putting paint into the letters that already exist is trivially easy, compared to trying to cut the letters out.

[bmcecosse]

I agree - transfer to 'worst accessory' thread....... This is madness!

[Alec]

Hello Akuchanny,

I would think that a trip to an engraver would be worth checking to see if their machine could do what you want. I can't think of any other possible way that would be neat and accurate?

I see you have a Scimitar, I recently bought a 6A.

Alec

[akuchanny]

I thought about that, and will give it a try, it's just the tops of the knobs are very domed, so it would have to go a fair depth.

Yeah I have a SE5 it's a great car to drive, whereabouts are you based?

[Alec]

Hello Akuchanny,

that is a problem although engravers of cups etc deal with a curved surface, at least they should be able to advise?

Oswestry, Shropshire, look on the right of posts, it gives information there very often.

Alec

[akuchanny]

Hi Alec,

Sorry haven't been on the forum long. I'm east London, let me know if your ever this way, can offer you a brew and car talk. If your so inclined.

[simmitc]

Each to their own, and to me the concept is interesting. The only bugbear is that there's an identical thread running under custom & modified, so why do we need it twice?

[Fingolfin]

I think it's a pretty neat idea -- it'd not be obvious in daylight, and could be helpful for not pulling the wrong switch at night. Makes the Minor modern without modernizing it, if that makes sense. But yes, cutting bakelite is a bit frightening, as it's so very brittle.
I believe replacement switches can be bought, and these would (I imagine) be made of modern plastic -- why not buy some of those and modify them? Easier to cut, at least.

[LouiseM]

The only bugbear is that there's an identical thread running under custom & modified, so why do we need it twice?

I've now locked the duplicate thread in Custom & Modified and merged the responses with this thread to avoid confusion.

Welcome to the messageboard akuchanny. No need to post the same question in different forums as it will get seen wherever it is

[polo2k]

good to see epople are open minded to new ideas

if you want to go a bit more extreme...

backlit, 25mm diameter and available with different colour filters
iirc the bezel is a seperate part so you could paint it dash colour
(From Europa spares)

alternatively...
what about finding oit the thickness of the top of the bakolite then drilling a series of 1.5mm holes so that they stop before they break through, you could then tidy the edge with a craft knife/dremel, to disperse the light you could use an opaque resin poured into the drillings (if you fill the resin till its slightly proud you can then polish the surface with wet and dry/abrasives)

the white paint idea could work, they use a similar idea on passats with red led`s in the interior light


the passat has backlighting too but the leds give ambient light and let you read the text (this pic is a bora thought I think, or a golf with bora vents at least)


its a lot more subtle in real life. for your idea you could use UV led`s in the interior light


OR...
what about something like (but smaller) this protruding from the dash. it could masquerade as a bar to protect the switches from accidental operation (similar to the switch guards on the new "mini".

you could use some 5mm id brass tube with led`s layed in (and resin to disperse the light) if done right it could be quite subtle

another interesting application idea that might get the creative juices going... on the Ferrari 308 there is a bulb inside the handbrake handle pointing downwards to illuminate the switches below it
http://images.classiccars.co.uk/c/350/2 ... e18273.jpg
being a ferrari they dont tend to work, but its the thought that counts lol

[akuchanny]

Hey guys thanks for the more positive comments,

The plastic switches are a back up plan, I really want to keep the worn in look and the slight brown colour of my original switches, I will have to drill into the head of the switch so the led will fit, they are deeper than they look, my first experiment with a deremel helped me with that discovery, I will dig out the switch and have a best guess at the depth.
My scimitar has a recessed dash light to allow see the controls after dark, it works well as there is a overr lap between te dash and the centre console. I did think about that, but couldn't find away to make it look almost factory.

The switches from Europa are well made, but igoing to leave complete replacement out until the last resort.

Does anyone know if there are definitely plastic replacements for the knobs?

Keep any re ideas comming, when I get some time next week I'm going down to my local engravers to see if they can help.

Andy
Ps sorry about the double post.

[Fingolfin]

ESM and Bully don't list them separately from the switch gadget itself, but the pull switch 'body' IS included. That means to me that you could phone them or email them and they'd probably send you the switch 'body' for a small price. That's what I'd hope, anyway. Sorry I can't be more help.

[ASL642]

You could always buy some second hand switches off Ebay and experment with these rather than ruin the car's existing ones. If it works they are easy to swop over.

[mike.perry]

They thought of backlighting the switches in 1948, the Series MM has a light behind the instrument panel grill which shines on the switches.

[akuchanny]

Hey guys, thats just what I did, I bout a few wiper switches from eBay a couple if years ago to rub tests with, I will try son of the plastic ones, if it all goes wrong. I'm sorting out two classics for MOT at the moment, But once done, I will be back to the switches, by the middle of the month. Will keep you posted, and keep any ideas coming if you have them

Thanks!

[akuchanny]

No news on the back lighting yet, as I'm still working on it, but will keep you all posted.

A.

[akuchanny]

Well it's been a while since I last posted on this thread. I have tried a few options with eBay purchases, all have been a total failure, dremiling the the letters didn't work. And the engraver I spoke to was not vey helpful. I think I would have to find a better engraver if I was to go that route. A friend suggested drilling out the centres and redrawing the letters on clear plastic so it shines through. But I am not massively happy with that idea.

So In effect I still have my Normal in backlight switches. I've re painted them, and still sometimes find myself grabbing the chocke instead of the wipers, in the dark.

I still want to do this as if I can get the letter cut out exactaly they would look great, period but modernised and safer. But a, still stumped at how to do this.

Anyone have any other ideas on how to do this?

Andy

[Fingolfin]

What about those people who write very very small lettering on tiny things like rice grains? Surely the skill would be transferable to cutting out the letters in bakelite or later plastics. What you want is someone with a very steady hand, plenty of patience, and a sharp knife. Could be pricey though...and I don't know where you might find a practitioner of that art.