Replacing plastics instrument panels

[office_supply]

Hi guys,

Im replacing the plastic insturment panel overlays on my plane and I need to cut out holes for the instruments on the upper panel, and for switches etc on the lower panel.

Any recommendation on a proper cutting tool that wont crack or melt the plastic?

Thanks,

[the_swede]

Standard hole saw for a drill works well, turning at high speed with low pressure on the panel. Make a template out of lexan or something first to make sure the holes are in the right location.
Swede

[BoostedNihilist]

When drilling man sized holes in a plastic panel I set the holesaw and start the hole with the drill in reverse... this helps reduce accidents...

[really green]

Personally for me,

If your doing some smaller holes, I've found that the circular saw attachment for a dremel tool works really good. No melting or disfiguring.

[office_supply]

The panel I have is pre-molded so I knew where to cut. Since I have both small and large instruments on the panel, I opted for a 1-3/4inch hole saw. Unfortunately all Home Depot carried were for wood/metal but it did the trick without melting which was a bonus.

I chose the 1-3/4inch because it was about a half-inch smaller than the hole size required. Then I used a cutter bit on the dremel and carefully cut out the rest leaving about a quarter inch. On the small holes this wasnt much, but on the bigger holes and the glovebox, it took a lot out. So long as I went in a clockwise motion, I got a clean cut on the outside and the melted plastic on the inside. When that was done, a sanding bit did the rest.

So far so good, thanks for the info guys