Frosting Acrylic?

[Myrdhyn]

What is the best way to frost acrylic?

I see that Defyant uses 1200 grit sandpaper and wetsands but his acrylic looks VERY uniform...when I tried this (admittedly with 1000grit) it didn't look uniform at.
I have also tried spraying acetone on it with a fine mist. This gives a good frost but its not uniform it looks more like the sheet of acrylic has aged and been beaten up etc etc...almost like hard water.....

A friend has access to a sandblaster at work do you think this would give a good even frost that would diffuse light nicely?

Any other tips and/or tricks would be extremely helpful as I cannot complete my mod w/o figuring this out b/c it calls for a frosted acrylic window instead of a clear one.

[Crimson Sky]

Using fine grit with a 1/4 sheet palm sander used on both sides will give the best and most even frosted results. The finer the grit, the smoother the frost. I like to use 4-600 grit myself. You can also use Krylon Frosted Glass spray for terrific results on acrylics and other plastics.

[Myrdhyn]

Hmmm I can't afford any power tools atm all I have is a hand sanding block.....

4-600 grit you say? I used 1000 grit and can see scratch/swirl marks.

What would happen if I first used 1000grit then resanded with 2000grit?

Also what about the sandblasting any thoughts on that?

[Crimson Sky]

Unless you have access to free sandblasting, i would go with the Krylon frosted paint. hand sanding is not going to give great results on a large surface--You could try wetsanding it by hand to help eliminate the swirl marks.

[Myrdhyn]

I was wetsanding :\ and yeah the sandblasting would be free....do you think that would be the best route?

edit: Does the krylon frosted paint diffuse light as well as having the acrylic be actually frosted? This light diffusion is the entire purpose of frosting the acrylic...

[Dark-hobo]

Sand blasting would definately be the best route. But only do it if you know how to. Even on metal if you are untrained it is easy for little pockets to develop. And I am willing to bet on acrylic it is even easier

[Crimson Sky]

I agree with DH that the sandblasting is great but has to be even to produce the best results. And yes, the frosted Krylon is great at producing an even light diffusion. Simply paint one side and leave the other untouched, unless you want an even deeper frosted effect.

[Myrdhyn]

ok ill keep that in mind but the guy that would be doing the sandblasting works in a machine shop and i would bet he knows what he is doing....

I myself have done some sandblasting in the past (volunteered some time at a saw sharpening facility) and I understand the complications but its not THAT hard to do evenly just dont sit in ont spot too long

[uprock2daflo]

Sandblasting on acrylic is really uncofortable, cause the sand tends to "bounce" and plus you have to really be careful cause you can go through it.
btw they do sell frosted acrylic actually is like a translucent. you can try that.

[Myrdhyn]

where would i find frosted acrylic?

and also only spray i can find similar to that which paul describes is labeled as glass frosting or something to that effect but its in a rattle can in the rattle can section (but not by krylon) will that work on acrylic