"DoN. Nichols" wrote in message
...
On 2009-03-24, Karl Townsend wrote:
I'm rewiring my tractor. See thread below. While I'm here, I'm taking an
extra couple hours and putting wire number labels on each end of each
wire.
Plus writing down the apparent function while rewiring to include fuses.
(the tractor had one fuse stock)

A good idea.

Anyway, the wire labels are semi exposed. Most of them will be gone in 5
or
more years when I got trouble again. Anybody heard of a clear coat that
would seal these and hold them on? Other ideas?

Clear heat-shrink tubing over the labels. Run it at least a
half inch beyond each end of the label.

Of course -- if you had the right tools :-) you could do it the
way that a previous employer did when building flight simulators for the
military. (I have no doubt that other manufacturers used the same
practice when building the actual aircraft for the military. :-)

Each wire in the cable is run through a machine which measures
off the desired length (longer than needed so there is slack at both
ends when the cable is laced up). Aside from color codes, each wire in
heat stamped with a number every few inches, so if you dig the wire out
in the middle of the harness bundle, you can identify it and look up
where each end connects. (They also used computers to sort and print
out wire lists to identify everything.)

To do this, you need the heat stamp machine, sets of hot stamp
numbers, two or three different colors of hot stamp ribbon so you can
select a contrasting color for each wire. Black numbers on white wire
and gray wire. White numbers on black wire and on red wire. Experiment
to find the best contrast on other wire colors.

Good Luck,
DoN.

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We don't use heat stamping on aircraft wires any more; the insulation is so
thin on most wires nowadays that the marking will degrade its ability to
insulate. Most everyone has bought laser markers, or has gone to sleeves
for small jobs. There's an SAE paper out about the problem, but my web
connection is on the fritz and I can't find the number. Some nice Kingsley
machines can be bought for cheap now, if you look around.

Best regards,
Dale