Monday, December 27, 2010

Acrylite P95 DP95 Satin Ice Black White acrylic sheets


ACRYLITE® P-95 sheet offers transparent clarity when in direct contact with objects. Ideal for signs and displays, its one-sided matte finish reduces reflected light. This cell cast sheet comes in colorless, translucent, and custom colors.

ACRYLITE® DP-9 sheet is the same product as P-95 with the matte finish on both sides for the same finished look from any viewing angle. Select from a plethora of colors with varying degrees of transmitted and reflected light from colorless to translucent to opaque. Click the link to see a range of Acrylite standard Satin Ice colors.

Black/White ACRYLITE® P-95 sheet appears dark by day and, with a little backlighting, it glows white at night! It’s manufactured from a special pigment formulation that yields 10-19 percent light transmittance when backlit, but appears dark and opaque without backlighting.

ACRYLITE Crystal Ice and ACRYLITE Satin Ice acrylic sheet with frosted, matte finishes provide unique design elements. Partitions, shelving, and cabinet doors made of these textured products add stylish features to interior designs.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Deadmau5 using high-tech Plexiglas



London, UK - December 18, 2010 by deadmau5






Special EliT Plexiglas® acrylic sheet helps my man Deadmau5 manipulate holographic images in London.
As I understand it, the production company sourced the technology from one of my customers who worked with us to get the podium Plexiglas® just right. The effect is like the "Minority Report" graphics on hallucinogens. Cheers to everyone. Can't wait to see the mau5 next time he's in San DIego.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Plexiglass Sheet - Cleaning Plexiglass - Plexiglass Scratch Removal



Plexiglass Sheet Tips - Cleaning Plexiglass & Plexiglass Scratch Removal - video thanks to Rohm and Haas (now Arkema).

So these topics are quite related to edge polishing of Plexiglas as well!

Cleaning Plexiglass - think of plexiglass a a fine piece of wood. You would never treat it certain ways. Never use 409. Never use Windex. Never spill dirt or potting mix on the surface and then wipe off with your bare hand. But, we DO that with Plexiglass! Why is that? We are our own worst enemy when it comes to common sense and cleaning this plastic sheet. Well. most plastic sheet and material that we see around our homes is very chemical resistant and throwaway/recyclable. But Plexiglass is used in applications where we want it to LAST. So cleaning is a very important part of long term service. Plexiglass made in the USA does NOT yellow. However, if you use 409 or WIndex daily and it's exposed to the sun, you WILL get crazing - little cracks as the UV interacts with ammonia. No fix for this condition. Call my plastics company for another piece... :-) What to use? Simple.

Small Amount of Dish Soap and Water. Clean paper towel or soft cotton cloth. Rinse with water. Dry with soft cloth. Repeat.

Brillianize Polish and Cleaner. My favorite for 40 years. They add a little silicon to make it a little slicker on drying. I like it on my guitars as well.

Novus #1 polish and cleaner. Similar to Brillianize without the silicon. Part of a 3 step system.

Pledge - the standard stuff. The latest commercials show the Pledge Guy squirting it on way more than wood. I still like Brillianize best.




Scratch Removal

When your beautiful piece of Lucite acrylic scratches, you can fix it quickly! If you can't feel the scratch with your fingernail, then Novus#2 or #3 should restore the finish. Otherwise, you will need to sand and buff the area that is scratched to return the shine (see next paragraph). It's the same way we polish the edges of thick pieces of acrylic here at Ridout Plastics - it works! This procedure ONLY works on acrylic. It does not work on styrene (like the colored boxes we sell) or on polycarbonate (Lexan, Tuffak, Makrolon). They both look clear, but they cannot be restored.

Scratch Removal Solution: Sand the affected area with 150, 320, then 400 Wet/Dry, then 600 Wet/Dry and 800 if you can locate it. Use a buffing wheel on your drill with the Plastic Buffing Compound or White Diamond as Rouge is too fine. Let the buffing compound do the work to restore the shine. Do not press hard or you will "burn" the compound into the plastic. This works quite well and quickly.

Note about Motorcycle fairings and car headlight restoration.
The motorcycle windshields are typically Lexan Polycarbonate. Scratches don't come out, but cleaning with Brillianize is a MUST. The fairings can be maintained with Novus #2 on a regular basis. The fading and yellowed headlight covers on your car are polycarbonate. There are a few expensive solutions out there, and I recommend a simple solution of sanding with 320 grit and then spraying a clear acrylic lacquer over them. The clarity will not be completly restored but they will look better!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Cutting Plexiglass - How to Cut Plexiglas acrylic sheet

Cutting Plexiglass sheet. It's something I do every day. And after many years, I have acquired plenty of tools to do it correctly time after time - at the shop. When I get home and want to do some cutting of plexiglass sheet (known generically as acrylic sheet) I find myself in the same shoes as many of you reading this blog.

I found this cool old video from the 70's that gives some background.



Generally, not much has changed. Think of plexiglass sheet as a thing sheet of plywood or drywall. It has no grain so it needs support. Clamp a guide to the sheet to allow you to holding saw with 2 hands. Let the blade do the work. If you have to push hard, you're pushing too hard or the blade is dull or incorrect.... Common problems you might have when cutting:

1. Chipping - either too few teeth on blade, dull blade, or pushing too fast into saw blade (maybe RPM issue as well).
If using a sabre saw or skil-saw, prevent the material from chattering - this will cause chipping or breaking.

2. Melting - the exact opposite - too many teeth, too fast RPM, not pushing fast enough into blade to cool it.
Also, unmasked acrylic sheet will melt before masked sheet. Add masking such as blue painter tape.

Thanks to Rohm and Hass (now Arkema Group) for this classic. Haven't see old shop tools like that except at Gramp's house.
But the information is timeless and still 90% accurate today. More videos through out the site.