Unobtainium Supplies: Unscratchable 308 Switch Plates

I've been getting a lot of requests for unscratchable FHW (FAN|HAZARD|WIPE) and AERIAL switch plate counterparts to my Unscratchable Lever Bezels (See: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199364 ).

I'm very close to having the switch plate sets in production. There will be two sets, a set for the early Carb'd 308s, and a set for the later Carb'd, Injected, & QV 308s. (As best I can tell, the FHW label plate changed sometime in late '78 or early '79. ) I expect to begin shipments in about 3 weeks.

I've attached early copies of the artwork for the two sets for your comments:

The 1st artwork picture is the Switch Plates Set, '79 & older 308s.
The 2nd artwork picture is the Switch Plates Set, '79 & newer 308s. The newer set's differences from the early carb'd cars set are: FAN icon's blade shape, FAN speed marks added, WIPER icon's blade length & pivot point).

The artwork isn't final, I've requested the following corrections:

'79 & OLDER 308s SET:
FAN - Blades should be more circular.
HAZARD - Center triangle of Icon is a little too small, resulting in white lines between the 2 triangles being slightly too wide..
AERIAL - Ends of / lines on icon are round, should be vertical line with slightly beveled corners.

'79 & NEWER 308s:
FAN - Blades are a little thin where they curve around.
HAZARD - Center triangle of Icon is a little too small, resulting in white lines between the 2 triangles being slightly too wide..(same as '79 & older icon)
AERIAL - Ends of / lines on icon are round, should be vertical line with slightly beveled corners. (same as '79 & older icon).

I'm working off of a sample of the '79 & older FHW, and an excellent scan of the newer FHW label plate. My goal is for the artwork to be correct. If any of you spot something I've overlooked, please let me know ASAP as I'm trying to finalize the artwork by the middle of this week.

UNSCRATCHABLE LETTERING & ICONS
One of my goals is to provide labels with markings that, unlike the OEM labels, will not wear off with normal use. The colors, lettering & Icons on these labels are sealed under a layer of clear synthetic sapphire!!! The labels are called 'unscratchable' because the only way you can scrape the color or lettering off is to gouge thru the synthetic sapphire layer into the aluminum.

The labels do have a clear overcoat that can be worn off. However, it's easily restorable. If you scrape or wear the clear coat, you can restore it by polishing the surface smooth with steel wool & pumice, then if necessary, re-spraying the label with a semi-gloss clear.

That's right, I said polish with steel wool & pumice!!! Even something that abrasive won't scratch thru the synthetic sapphire that covers the markings on these label plates! In fact, steel wool & pumice are the reccommended cleaning materials for the M1 Abrams & nuculear sub control panels this label process was developed for!!!

CAVEAT:
There's a small discrepancy between my sets & the OEM ones, it's due to the inherent characteristics of the unscratchable plate process: The very thin (about 0.30 wide) border between the dotted cut line & the label's shaded background will have a slightly more satin finish than the OEM plates. We spent several weeks trying to come up with a way to get around this discrepancy but haven't found a way to do it in production at a reasonable cost. I don't believe you'll notice the discrepancy as I only detected it when I had sample plates & the OEM plates undar a magnifying glass.

You can obtain the exact finish by stripping the clear overcoat off with lacquer thinner or paint stripper, polishing the border with jeweler's rouge (it will NOT hurt the markings!) , then re-spraying with a semi-gloss clear.
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Bwana-Joe,
Thanks for reminding me. I dug up the pix you sent me & have sent them to my label company. I think the Euro QVs kept the AERIAL label longer than the US models.

So there will be 3 sets instead of 2:

308 Switch Plate Set, Old FHW w/AERIAL plates
308 Switch Plate Set, Newer FHW w/AERIAL plates
308 Switch Plate Set, Newer FHW w/REAR-DEF plates

Also, I just received the R.FOG artwork proof(see picture). This switch plate will be sold individually.

RERICES
These switch plates are probably going to be priced similar to the OEM plates as the unscratchable process is expensive relative to silk screen & printing processes.
I'm awaiting final pricing from my vendor. I expect to be able to post prices later this week.

I'll take pre-orders immediately, if you don't like the prices you can cancel the order, send eMAIL to:
ORDERS(at)UnobtainiumSupply(dot)com (making the appropriate substitutions of @ and . of course).

 

Simon,
Good Eye!!!

I've asked my vendor to check on the icon's wiper blade length. They've got the NOS plate I was lucky enough to find awhile ago!

I hope the plate matches your pix, otherwise I'm going to have to pick one.

 

CAN'T MAKE UNSCRATCHABLE A/C PLATES:
The unscratchable process has a very limited color selection, 1 each of the basic colors, and no white. You can get some variation around each color by changing some process parameters, which is how we were able to match the lever label plate colors.

Unfortunately, We haven't been able to get even close on matching the A/C plate's very light blue using the unscratchable process, and there's no white. We thought of having the white & blue silk screened on after making the rest of the label using the unscratchable process, but they're around the knob where they get a lot of rubbing, so just couldn't convince myself that it made sense.

LOOKING TO SOURCE REGULAR a/c PLATES:
I'm looking into an Italian source for the std A/C plates just so I can offer a 1 stop solution for all the 308 plates.

 

Joe,
This is a scan of the A/C plate I believe I can source in Italy. Does it match the original A/C plate's icons & fonts?
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ARTWORK IS ALMOST DONE!
I've attached a near final version artwork for the FAN|HAZARD|WIPE (FHW) switch plate sets, And for the R.DEF Switch Plate. I spent a lot of time yesterday with the vendor's graphic artist. We took SCANS & BwanaJoe's photos of each plate, blew it up until it filled a 24" monitor's screen top to bottom, then overlaid & edited the artwork it until it exactly matched the underlying image. The markings on these labels will duplicate the OEM plate markings within about 0.001" or better. They'll actually be more accurate than typical OEM plates as the OEM process often produced blurred edges while the modern optical process will not.

I thought the artwork was final, but after putting this post up I observed that the Old FHW plate's wiper blade tip isn't quite visable enough. A close examination reveals that the OEM blade has almost square ends, so we beveled the corners too much, and possibly the tip needs to be very slightly longer. I've requested that this be fixed.

ORDERING INFO:

The price for a FHW plate set is:
$110.63 = $98.33/set + $12.30 S&I (Send eMAIL with destination address for shipping cost to APO & non-us addresses)

Send eMAIL or PayPal to:
ORDERS(at)UnobtainiumSupply(dot)com (remember to substitute @ and . where appropriate)

Use the SUBJ: ORDER Unscratchable 308 FHW Label Plate Set

Be sure to specify which of the following sets you are ordering:

308 Switch Plate Set, Old FHW w/AERIAL
308 Switch Plate Set, Newer FHW w/AERIAL
308 Switch Plate Set, Newer FHW w/REAR-DEF

The R. FOG (rear fog light switch plate) is also available. The price is:
$35.67 = $23.77/plate + $11.90 S&I within the USA.

Use the SUBJ: ORDER Unscratchable R.FOG Label Plate
& say how many R.FOG plates you want.

Shipments should start 29 May.
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What is a 'paint sticker'? That's a new one for me!