Clear Acrylic Office Sign

[John Childs]

Phill,

Get the edges flame polished. Looks much better.

Given the choice I’d letter the back.

[Robert Lambie]

hi phill

to be honest i would use glass!
contact solaglass.. if none in your area call the bellshill branch.
its cheaper than buying a good perspex brand in, has a better finish & can easily come with the dges polished, if asked. doesnt cost much for them to do it and looks top notch.
they will also drill the glass as reqiured, just send some measurements in from the side were the holes should be. the alloy stand offs im sure need a 10 mill hole..

apply the vinyl on the rear and buy in the alloy locators…

we did this for a regular customer of ours. i used glass etch on the rear of the panel, instead of coloured vinyl.
it sits in the reception behind their desk with small spot lights above it.. looks top dollar and i admire it every time im in… 😉

[Robert Lambie]

oops nearly forgot. you want toughend glass or laminate. laminate is cheaper and you can get it quicker. think it comes in 4=6 mill though.. shouldnt matter though 😉

[Lee Attewell]

I make quite a few of these Phil. If you letter to the back, you get the gloss of the acrylic to the front. I’ve had them made with polished and machined edges and just with sawn edges…Both look good but, for an office, machined and polished looks better.

My supplier has just got in some new mounting fixings that are just fabulous. Three piece.Base gets screwed to wall, then the stand off pole ( up to 75mm) a small hole for the acrylic 6mm and then the cap which holds the sign up to 10mm.

I was really impressed with this product, but a bit pricy though $38.00 for a set + tax.

I have a lot of fun with this kind of sign, and have even started selling them on the net.

Good luck.

Lee

[Rodney Gold]

Use the cheaper EXTRUDED acrylic for this , cast acrylic is better only if you are going to work it a lot (less stressed than extruded which is a short polymer chain acrylic) , apart from which cast acrylic varies in thickness by + or – 10-20% over the sheet due to the way it’s made.

Polished edges will be a pain for you , get the Acrylic supplier to cut nicely and just sand the edges for a frosted look , put a teeny bevel on the edge.
Now heres a better idea than either front or back mounting the lettering (front mounting “looks” cheap and back mounting depends on adhesive properties to achieve perfect clarity) , rather use 1 sheet of 3mm , front mount the lettering and then use a sheet of 2/3mm to cover it , the lettering then “floats” between the two , use your mounting system to “sandwich” them.
As to mounting systems , we actually turn a 20mm aluminium rod and thread the back of the rod with a stud , the top of the rod is parted in the lathe to form a “button” with a thread that unscrews off the bar and you put your PX between the top button and the rod and screw it in.
You can use silver topped mirror screws and a thin hollow rod spacer to mount as well , depends on the wall and wether you want a sand off.

Be VERY careful with what you use to clean the acrylic , meths and certain other products (some solvents and thinners) actually promote stress cracks and these can appear some time after cleaning – sort of a “crazed” look , espcially around drilled holes etc. , the best is Benziene (carcinogenic) or just plain soap and water (light scratches can be brassoed out)
You actually need sort of specialised drills to drill acrylic , but taping both sides with masking tape where you drill will stop chipping.

[Lee Attewell]

The best tip I got from my acrylic supplier is to use a very blunt drill bit to drill any holes…No problem says I as I’ve got dozens of the bleeding things. Now, finding a sharp one is tricky. I must be lucky, my supplier gives me the option of having the acrylic beveled and then machine polished on a grinder with buffing pads attached. Makes for a bloody good looking job & only costs me a few bucks extra to do.

[Carrie Brown]

We have done this before for a large asset management company, we used 6mm acrylic with polished edges, etch vinly on the rear of the panel and the lettering on the front. This looks really good!. feel free to give me a call if you need any help.

Stephen

C&S Designs
01432 343456

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[Glenn Sharp]

Phil,

I would recommend you go for 5 or 6mm cast acrylic & flame polish the edges.
The most basic flame polishers are relativley cheap (gas cannister, oxygen cannister & torch)
and dramatically improves the look of the finished sign. Polishing also softens the edges so no cut fingers

Regards, Glenn

[Glenn Sharp]

Phil,

I forgot to say, the location of the sign is quite important in your decision to letter front or back. reverse cut letters can look good in some cases but depending on colour of vinyl etc. you can get too much glare from the acrylic and can’t read the detail.

Regards, Glenn

[t-winks]

We have done quite a few of these and there is no set way of doing them, weve used glass with vinyls on the reverse, frosted glass with vinyl on the front, cast acrylic flame polised edges vinyls on reverse cut acrylic or brass letters mounted on the front.
Reverse engraved with vinyl on the front, the list just goes on and on it depends more on the design or effect you tfying to get

[Mark Horley]

If your flame polishing the edges… dont use meths to clean the panel with.. it can lead to ‘crazing’
Personally…
I would use 6.4mm laminated glass fully polished with 10mm hole drilled to each corner then use shopkit stand off fixings. this would make the sign look alot better… and would be easier for maintaining(cleaners?)
also put the graphics on the back to finish it off…but this is what i’d do… everyone is different..

[Phill Fenton]

Thanks for all the advice.

In this instance I have taken Rodneys advice and merely sanded and put a slight bevel all the way around the edges. I drilled a series of 20mm dia. holes using a joinery bit for wood cutting. First taping the front and back of the panel in an attempt to minimize any roughness when the drill broke through (This part worried me the most as it was quite an expensive piece of acrylic).

From what everyone has said I think I should have applied the lettering to the back. But as I had already lettered the panel at the time when I posted this question 😕 I decided to leave it that way (However, I was tempted to remove it and start again).

The local Europoint rep (Colin) was in the other day and had seen the part completed job. It was he that had said the edges should be polished which is what prompted this question in the first place.

I put the sign up today – and they were that pleased with it they have asked me to do another for their stairway.

Imagine how pleased they would have been if I had done it properly 😕

Coincidentaly I was in another office block yesterday that had a similar system but which had been made using a glass panel. Naturally I decided to study it closely. It was lettered behind and had a slight tint to it with nice polished black edges. The overall impression was of high quality.

[Robert Lambie]

great stuff phill.. its always good doing signs like this.. a bit different from the norm and a bit of a learning curve at the same time. nothing better when the customer loves it too.. well done! 😀

quote :

Coincidentaly I was in another office block yesterday that had a similar system but which had been made using a glass panel. Naturally I decided to study it closely. It was lettered behind and had a slight tint to it with nice polished black edges. The overall impression was of high quality.

Having seen it in the flesh, it will help you make the decision of how to go about your next one in the future.
I do think the glass looks better and to be honest i think it works out cheaper, less hassle & easier applying the graphics and to prevent scratching. When you consider you have to buy a sheet of Perspex, get it cut to size, polish edges, drill the holes & be left with an off-cut.its far easier just calling solaglass and tell them what you want & pay a minimal fee considering…