[Boatanchors] Repairing Johnson Ranger Front Panel

[Michael D. Harmon]

I have a Ranger (Ranger I) that I recently purchased from a local 
27-megger which I am attempting to restore.  I have most of the parts 
now which I need to start putting it back together (except for a good 
pair of 1614 modulator tubes), but I'm perplexed as to what to do with 
the front panel.

The previous owner told me there was originally some graffiti painted on 
the front panel which he ground off..  Unfortunately, he ground off two 
big patches above and below the Johnson logo all the way down to bare, 
shiny metal.  The logo on this panel is fine, but about half the legends 
for the 'operate' switch are ground off.  If he had simply left the 
graffiti there, I might have been able to shave off the paint without 
destroying the baked enamel panel underneath, but it wasn't to be.  In 
the process of scavenging parts to rebuild the transmitter, I ended up 
with another parts unit which had a front panel.  However, this second 
front panel was just as bad (or worse) than the original one.  It has a 
1/2" hole right in the middle of the Johnson logo, another hole between 
the crystal socket cover and the bandswitch where someone had added a 
BNC jack for a VFO, and the 3/8" hole for the drive control has been 
reamed out to about 5/8".  It looks like someone replaced the drive 
control with a pot having a very short bushing, so they reamed out the 
hole in the front panel large enough to clear the nut on the control 
where it came through the sub-chassis.  In addition, there are a lot of 
scratches and scrapes around the hole.  It looks like they tried to 
tighten the control nut with a pait of worn-out Channel-lock pliers.  
The legends for the "operate" switch are OK on this panel.

Does anyone know of a way to fix either of these panels?  Obviously, the 
panel with the ground-off spots could probably be repainted, but the 
ground-off spots go so deep that they'd probably show through the paint, 
so paying for a professional refinishing job would be somewhat of a 
waste.  The extra holes on the other panel could probably be filled in 
with Bondo, sanded smooth, and repainted.  However, the hardest part of 
refinishing either panel would be re-doing the legends for the knobs and 
the Johnson Viking Ranger logo with the EFJ "Viking" head.  I've read 
about some of the professional "restorers" who use a silk screen process 
to put the legends and logos on their panels, but I'm sure it's very 
expensive to have it professionally done.

I'm just trying to get the old transmitter to look "OK".  I don't have 
the money or the expertise to refinish the case or even the front panel, 
unless there's something I can do myself to make it look a little 
better.  It isn't my goal to try to make it look like a new one!

Is there any way to use a digital photo or even a copier to make a 
"screen" of the Johnson logo and the legends for the "operate" switch, 
so that I could repaint the ground-off area and then apply the logo and 
legends with some light green paint using the template or screen?

I'm no artist, but I'm willing to try any reasonable (and cheap) solution.

Thanks,
Mike, WB0LDJ
mharmon at att dot net