"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
03/26/2014 at 13:22 • Filed to: Speedometer Faces, oppositelock, smart, rageface, memes
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"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
03/26/2014 at 13:22 • Filed to: Speedometer Faces, oppositelock, smart, rageface, memes | 0
| 8 |
Custom speedometer in "Cubefx"'s smart fortwo...
So, I purchased my car off lease, my warranty runs out in 8,000 miles, and I've been bitten by the modding bug once again. While my other car parts arrive (ever seen a trailer hitch on a smart car? You will soon) I'm beginning to finish a mod almost two years in the making.
I've been working off and on on this project since late 2012, and now I've finally got around to implementing it into my car.
I've been designing custom speedometers for my car using GIMP (too cheap for PhotoShop) and have narrowed my favourites down to three.
So far, the current designs call for laser printing on paper, then attaching transparencies on the back so the LED lighting doesn't bleed through areas it isn't supposed to go.
This works all fine and dandy, but I'm not a fan of having to look at a paper speedometer. Then there's the issue of humidity and fading.
So, in a search for a better quality material, I've come up with a couple other ideas
1. Laminate the paper on top (this at least offers some protection and makes it look better). Matte laminate would look great, almost like a factory job.
2. Colour transparencies - Okay, so I'm using a Fedex Office store to print my black transparencies (for the light control) and thought, why not print the actual speedometer face as a transparency too! That way, the transparency channels in the speedometer face will be transparent instead of the colour of the paper it's printed on.
3. And finally, I have the crazy idea of getting it screen printed on some sort of material.
As I'm not too knowledgeable about printing, my questions for you Oppoheads are about #2 and #3. I didn't get any usable results from Google, so why not try Oppo!!!
About #2: Is it possible for colour transparencies? Including white?
About #3: Is this even possible? If so, what would be the best material for the application at hand?
And for those wanting to design their own speedometer faces, all you need is a template of your speedometer and a photo editing program like GIMP or Photoshop, some steady hands, and the ability to easily access your instrument cluster. A general how-to could be found !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (yes, I know it's for smarts, but it can be easily adapted for any car really).
Thanks Oppo!
puddler
> Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2014 at 13:24 |
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this is pretty awesome.
CPT Speedbump
> Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2014 at 13:25 |
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ever seen a trailer hitch on a smart car? < there used to be one around town here that towed a trailer with..sort of a billboard thing on it? lol
Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura
> Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2014 at 13:44 |
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Try getting CS5 on torrent, lel.
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Mercedes Streeter
> Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura
03/26/2014 at 13:47 |
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That was a consideration of mine, but once I got used to GIMP (and how I never really need the use of such a program anyway) I passed on it.
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Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura
> Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2014 at 13:52 |
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I'unno, GIMP tends to produce some unwanted artifacts and the one thing that pisses me off about the open-source program is its inability to have a useful "magic wand" tool. Oh, and font types take forever to load.
Fuck off, GIMP.
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Mercedes Streeter
> Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura
03/26/2014 at 13:56 |
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Good point, I always found those to be rather annoying downsides to using that program. Could be part of the reason it took me so long to make my designs.
Thankfully though, I've done my work and now just need it printed!
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Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura
> Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2014 at 13:58 |
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That reminds me, think you can do a 919 speedometer for me? I can't trust myself to print on transparency nor make a decent speedo..
GhostZ
> Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura
03/26/2014 at 13:59 |
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Or download CS2 for free legally if you're squeamish about torrents.