[sdiy] plastic front-panels?

[James Husted]

on 2/1/02 6:12 PM, Scott Evans, Gen Mgr at esresource at earthlink.net wrote:

> Lexan is bullet proof. However, the Lexan I used to work with in the
> 70's was quite easily scratched on the surface. Has this been imporved
> over the years? If not, scratch resistant cast acrylic would make a
> better choice with patch cords and all.

The lexan we used was had a little "give", in that it's surface wasn't
really hard. Most things that would scratch Plexi only brushed off this
stuff. It was soft enough. It also had a very matte gain surface which hid
small scratches well. Like I said though, it wasn't thick enough to actually
be the panel, only the decal. The lexan on motorcycle helmets looks like it
scratches fairly easily.
Here's a plan. Scratch it on purpose! I've done sculptures with plexi where
they were buffed with a sanding disk on a drill. The circular scratches show
the backlighting and big scratches don't show much at all. Also the surface
is *much* easier to silk screen on. you don't need the special inks you need
on smooth plexi (plain paint etc. will chip off with your fingernail on
smooth plexi). A light grain like on aluminum front panels would be all you
need. The whole panel will glow, not just the engravings.
-James

-- 
James Husted                        The ErsatZ Planet
james at ersatzplanet.com           www.ersatzplanet.com

"Welcome to the first day of the rest of your money."