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Relettering a Marantz faceplate - a w1jim basement miracle!

w1jim

w1jim

I can fix it but good...
Subscriber
I picked up a Marantz 4230 receiver recently that needed a bit of restoration work. Amongst other issues was that the word "volume" was worn off of the faceplate.

In consultation with thedelihaus (Paul) I found some "Color Laser Bake-On Water-Slide Decal Media". Essentially this is a material that you print on with a laser printer and results in a decal that you apply wet and then bake in an oven at 375 F for 15 minutes to give it permanence.

The next challenge was to find the elusive Marantz font. I found "Metropolis CT" at www.myfonts.com that is very close. The page allows you to type in text and chose the size to see a sample. After doing that I did a "print screen" and copied it into a graphics program and trimmed / resized to fit.

Once I printed it out, trimmed and applied wet it was ready for the oven. Before baking it is critical to remove all plastic trim from the faceplate which in this case was the bezel around the dial glass and the plastic grommets around the headphone jacks and the tape monitor buttons. If you skip this step you will have one ugly mess on your hands.

I think the result, while not 100% perfect looks quite good and I'm hoping will be durable. You can see part of the clear substrate around the lettering but it certainly passes the 2 foot / 2 beer test.

This technique can be used for most any light colored metal faceplate; new projects and restorations.
JimB


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How do you think it would behave if you used an x-acto knife to trim closer to the lettering before wetting and heating? Also, would a clear lacquer coat be of benefit?

I've always just tried using a superfine Sharpie myself.

John
 
I think you could get carried away trimming closer but it wouldn't look much better. I should experiment at some point with some junk faceplates. I think the clear lacquer would just muck it up and the baking process probably address the issue of it easily wearing off.
All worth experimenting with though - YMMV.
JimB
 
Nice work, Jim!

A dusting with a clear sprayed paint I imagine will be good for durability and blending it in a bit more.
 
I cheaped out and didn't buy the font ($30). I copied the page into a jpg and printed from that. I imagine that other panels would come out better if I actually "owned" the font. I did touch it up a bit.
 
Would think you could scan an original marking from another faceplate as well, and use that as well... if you scanned it at very high-res and touched up any flaws around the edges, then reduced the resolution again to usable file size.

It would actually be very cool to add to the database some downloadable scans of common faceplate markings for Marantz and other vintage receivers with silk-screened faceplates.

John
 
Hmmm... I think a high resolution macro photo of a good face plate, brought into Photoshop for some post-processing, could achieve similar results. I'm certain that there are some excellent examples out there that one could use. Hmmm, he thinks...
 
If you could scan a whole face plate and then create a decal for the whole face place and transfer it in one piece you should be able to avoid having that part of the clear substrate around the lettering.
 
After loading the image into photoshop, convert the image to Adobe .pdf, and check what Adobe font adobe sez it is!
 
Very nice. The decals work nicely.

I use a custom stamp with fast drying ink for replacing commonly worn lettering (such as the "Power" label).

DH
 
I think there are a lot of applications for this basic technique. As was mentioned you could scan an entire faceplate but you need a substantial scanner and I don't know if the material is available in sizes larger then 8.5" x 11".
Let your imagination run wild with this - how about smaller items like worn off speaker badges or home projects?
Jim
 
Next time you do this crank the size on the font as big as you can before you do a print screen. That way the resolution is a bit higher.

I think I may customize my Model 140 like this one I rebuild it. :yes:
 
drillher said:
Can the decals be made in white for a black panel?
Click to expand...
Ah, good point! I bet you could do that. They wouldn't come out as nice as an anodized faceplate of course but it would be worth trying for some applications.
These are used to make decals for models and novelty items.
In fact you could print color photos on this material (some use it to put pictures on porcelain mugs - YMMV). I don't know how it would last in the dish washer though.

How about a custom logo like that guy on ebay does for those "restored/custom" SX-1250's? But tasteful!
Hell, any image you can get on your computer you could make a decal out of.
A Pioneer/Marantz/Sansui/Kenwood/Technics/etc logo that you could put on a smooth transformer surface?
How about an AK logo on your car's side window? Perhaps print it reverse and apply to the inside of the glass. That would probably fade though.
Or a picture of "Nipper" for your custom TT or dustcover! That'll piss off my cat (Thelonious) in no time.
JimB
 
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w1jim said:
I cheaped out and didn't buy the font ($30). I copied the page into a jpg and printed from that. I imagine that other panels would come out better if I actually "owned" the font. I did touch it up a bit.
Click to expand...

I have the font Metropolis on the MAC. It's not exact, but pretty close. I can modify it for a near perfect match. Next time anyone needs something typeset in this font let me know. I can supply a hi-rez print quality pdf.
 
NP... scan the two halves on a standard flatbed scanner, and then photoedit back together. I do it all the time with schematics. Just need to be a little precise with the alignment and make sure the final rejoined dimensions are accurate.

I was thinking of commercial printing though; I guess for home application you'd just scan either half, and make sure the two seamed back together when they went on the faceplate.

John

w1jim said:
I think there are a lot of applications for this basic technique. As was mentioned you could scan an entire faceplate but you need a substantial scanner and I don't know if the material is available in sizes larger then 8.5" x 11".
Let your imagination run wild with this - how about smaller items like worn off speaker badges or home projects?
Jim
Click to expand...
 
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