Question about Plexi

[crazy4ozs]

hey guys, now that the box is nearing completion i am making a piece of MDF and plex to be put infront of the box to get rid of that fugly stock grey carpet look....anyways i am wanting to put an ALPINE logo on teh plexi and light it up with LEDS but my question is, is how do u "carve" a design into the plexiglass like shown bwelow...are there special tools required ect...?

Click to read more...

 

[Chevyaudio 5,000+ posts]

It has to be etched into it...and yes its a special machine...and yes I believe its expensive

 

[crazy4ozs]

hm...i wonder if there are any companys that haev them on site that would let me use it...

 

[JL12W7INAGS300 10+ year member]

I have a machine at workthat can do that sort of stuff. It is a CNC laser engraving machine. Maybe I could work something out with you, email me at mymonkeyracing@cox.net with specs on how big the plexiglass is and the logo. Thanks.

 

[crazy4ozs]

e-mail sent //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Ayrton 10+ year member]

Actually it is quite easy to do with a small sand blaster. Several how tos' can be found online.

 

[faulkton 5,000+ posts]

Actually it is quite easy to do with a small sand blaster. Several how tos' can be found online.

Never done it, but thats exactly what i was just thinking.

 

[MemphisSoul4U 10+ year member]

Actually it is quite easy to do with a small sand blaster. Several how tos' can be found online.

That's what I would do... Just tape out the logo, and frost the rest of the plexi with a sandblaster... I've done some stuff like that before.

 

[crazy4ozs]

sounds good guys i appreciate the help //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Tirefryr 10+ year member]

The laser engraving will have a much better effect and look versus the etching.

 

[Ayrton 10+ year member]

The laser engraving will have a much better effect and look versus the etching.

Yes, but one is much cheaper than the other.

Couple of tips for those that want to try this themselves.

Any cheap blaster will do (Craftsman, Harbor Freight) with low to medium pressure.

The finer the blast media, the sharper the results will be.

Finally I prefer to remove the protective tape that comes on plexi and replace it with two layers of green painter's tape, then draw and cut out the area that you wish to etch.

 

[Bake 10+ year member]

What does a cheap blaster cost? And true you can do simple shapes with a blaster but a laser will do awesome detail work. I have access to a laser, I'll get a sample and see what pricing would be if anyone is interested. I was planning to do a panel for the bottom of one of my amps anyway.

 

[crazy4ozs]

alrite, so what about this, hwo could i make this custom to fit underneith and flush mount it to a piece of MDF...any ideas?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Light-Sign-Alpine-Home-Car-Audio-Stereo-System-Bar-815_W0QQitemZ6255774996QQcategoryZ569QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

 

[Ayrton 10+ year member]

What does a cheap blaster cost?

This will do everything you want and more.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00916706000

Where is Ga are you, I may have a use for that laser.

 

[Ayrton 10+ year member]

alrite, so what about this, hwo could i make this custom to fit underneith and flush mount it to a piece of MDF...any ideas?

You just want to flush mount that in MDF?

Give me more details and I can help.