Panel Finishing (5)

5 hours

I finally have all the holes cut/drilled in the panel!  So now it is time to label everything and paint it.  I had been looking into trying to take the panel somewhere to have it powder coated and get all the labels laser engraved, but I didn't really find anywhere nearby that could do it.  So, here is how I did it myself.

First, I primed and painted the panel.  I used Rustoleum Pro Aluminum primer and matte black paint (both from Home Depot).

I let the paint cure for a few days before moving on.  Next, I printed all the labels on my label maker, using some white-on-clear tape.  I laid everything out, figuring out what would fit, how large to make the text, and so on, and then carefully applied all the labels with tweezers.

Finally, I sprayed a few coats of satin clear over the labels.  The passenger warning sticker is from the EAA certification kit.

I let the clear cure for a few more days.  Then I installed everything that goes in from the front (start button, LED lights, and the USB port), and then I installed the panel back in the plane!

I still have a few more things to wire on the panel (seat heat, the interior lights dimmer switch, the iPad dock, and wires to the wings for lighting), but it's nearly complete now!