AFDS unit with faded text
repair is needed

Published august, 2024

The two AFDS units on my Main Instrument Panel are from SISMO Solucions. One of them is suffering faded text. This was atrributed to the frequent pushing of the buttons. Normally the paint should stay on but why it came off doesn't really matter, it needs to be fixed.

I took off the electronic board that was mounted on the back of the MIP to gain access to the buttons on the front. To my surprise the button caps came of very easy. The best thing I could do is sanding the face of the buttons so that all previous engraving was gone. Next, I painted them with two component paint. This is a two component paint with a hardener part in it, which normally prevents scratches.

The paint is quickly dry, but it needs a few days to harden before you can do fine engraving with the laser.