MPC cosmetics, some ideas all MPC heads should consider

Hey everyone!
I just wanted to bring attention to a few topics on MPC customization

1. First and foremost, I think everyone would agree to the desire of plans for MPC wood side panel kits, namely the 2000xl. I am very impressed with the ones sold on MPCstuff.com, however im an not thrilled with a $99 price tag for a few pieces of wood.

if anyone has this kit and could make out some plans (however detailed or simple) and post a link on the forums, I think everyone out there would benefit. Then anyone could simply buy their own hardwoods and start making the proper cuts.

2. Does anyone know if the $69 styleflip decals are worth it? I feel as though no one in their right mind should drop that kind of cash on a fancy sticker, but the print quality seems spot on as well as the 3m material. Maybe there's an alternative at kinkos?

3. Less important, im simply wondering if anyone knows of a good quality paint to refinish the volume knobs. My 2000xl has relatively no wear considering its age, but the knobs are all beat up and darkened.

Thanks for all responses!

I would check the wood panel threads even if they pertain to other MPC's. You may be able to look at how people are generally doing them and apply your own measurements and angles from the 2000XL.

I never used a Styleflip decal but I have many friends online who have and they all were satisfied. Another example of their quality is the DSI Tempest drum machine. They get the surface decal straight from Styleflip.

There was a thread here on knobs and buttons and Cicatrix brilliantly suggested plasti-dip paint from home depot. It gave them a nice matte finish and leaves a grippy rubbery texture to the knobs and buttons. I may get some to do all the small and F buttons on my 1000 and 2500. I'm thinking a bent paper clip used like a fish hook would be a method to do the dipping. Check Cicatrix's flick, it looks clean. All my play sized buttons are black OEM on those machines but the smaller ones are still scarce for OEM ones.

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Good call man, I will say the only reason I didnt just go about planning things out myself is the angles in which the palm rest etc are made, and more so the thickness of the boards. But i suppose trial and error is key.

I can dig that, are you saying the tempest uses just a decal

and that plasti dip is a must, ill go grab some this weekend, thanks!

Yeah Dave Smith said in video they got the surface materials straight from style flip. There's flicks of the Tempest that are 1080 res and up, look at one of those and you can get a sense of the decal without even touching it or seeing it in person. You can tell it's a thick decal but it looks pretty good. I also here good things about the 12inch Skinz decals especially the metallic ones.

I live two blocks from a Home Depot I may get some tomorrow myself.

Nice Nice ill go check out 12 inch
I grabbed some black plasti dip and im getting ready to try it on my knobs, it does a nice job on bics aha. Though it does go on rather thick and im not sure how i can avoid buttons sticking. Also does anyone think plasti dipping the jog wheel would be a good way to add grip? worried it might be to much

So yeah i went all out in search of a reasonably priced nice piece of wood for my panel project. At the local home depot for $3.96 a foot i found a really rich colorful plank of "select poplar". It has a great striped lose grain and has hints of blue purple green gold and browns. I was very happy with the find and went on to design. After some figuring me and the bro found out a good system and started making cuts.

The project is almost finished and i gotta say its looking hot, im happy i didnt spend the $99 on some kit. Ill be posting pictures, and most likely some plans like those I had wanted, aha

12 inch doesnt have anything for the 2000xl, oh well

Dope. look forward to the flicks man.

Dredden wrote: however im an not thrilled with a $99 price tag for a few pieces of wood.

if anyone has this kit and could make out some plans (however detailed or simple) and post a link on the forums, I think everyone out there would benefit. Then anyone could simply buy their own hardwoods and start making the proper cuts.

99 dollars is not a bad price for those wooden sides dude. Unless you are a skilled woodworker or have access to proper machinery (and even more important: people who will help you to set up that shit and show you how it's done) you will not get good results. There's a great deal more to it than "making the proper cuts". A whole lot of angles and curves and other tricky things to take into consideration

I made a couple of wooden cases/stands for my xl years ago that came out pretty nice. One even had the fake leather armrest..