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Hello fellow owners! A big thank you in advance for those who have provided guidance and information thus far. Its been very useful.
I am refurbishing the cockpit now (among various other parts) and am looking for advice or tips on what I call the "Lettering insert" that goes behind the plexiglass plate on the instrument panel of the 1947 140s. In the parts catalog it is referred to as the, "Plate- Plexiglass panel decoration" Part # 0412490. Does somebody make this plate (not the plexiglass but the lettered panel)? Can it be covered with a vinyl version? Has anybody tried that? Are they silkscreened? In short, how do we refurb/replace/fabricate a replacement? Thanks. Mine is shown below:
This is an unusual post in that I am answering my own post, but I'm putting it here so it gets indexed for future folks looking for the same thing as I was.
Our "Member Products" directory had a listing for someone named Don who manufactured new plexiglass panel lettering inserts. I spoke with him and he sold his business some time ago (we need to update that directory), however, the person who bought that business is indeed still offering new panel inserts. They are engraved from the back (not silk screened), then the engraved parts receive white acrylic paint. The end user has to drill their own holes in the insert (for knobs and for mounting screws) and then paint the back of the plexiglass panel in whatever color matches their airplane. His panels are very reasonably priced.
His name is Dewey Barich and he's located near Dover, Delaware. His business is EZUSIGNS.com. You can reach him at (302) 270-0485. These panel inserts are not his main business- just a side offering for restorers.
Note that, in the photo shown in our "Member Products" directory, the logo and lettering are not true to the original. Being a graphics artist myself, I recreated the proper Cessna logo, as well as the "one forty" lettering in the correct typeface, and supplied those to Dewey. So the inserts are now correct to the 1947 & 1948 versions.I don't work for him, but I was happy to find that these are available new. Huge thanks to Lorraine Morris for pointing me in the right direction.
Well, I had already recreated the graphics when I bought the plane, having added the proper logos to the yokes. The ones available from Aerographics are close, but not quite the same. And Dewey answered his phone right away, just after Lorraine had given it to me. So it was a fast progression!
