I'm making some acrylic pieces that will be used outside, and want to protect them. Can anyone recommend a clear coat that works well?
There are so many to choose from...
I'm making some acrylic pieces that will be used outside, and want to protect them. Can anyone recommend a clear coat that works well?
There are so many to choose from...
Marc Myer
Epilog 35 mini
Acrylic itself is one of the most weather resistant materials you can find. Why do you need to further protect it?
Mark
ULS X-2 660, Corel X3, Haas VF4, Graphtec vinyl cutter, Xenetech rotaries (3), Dahlgren Tables, Gorton P2-3, New Hermes pantographs (2), and recently, 24" x 36" chinese router. Also do sublimation, sand blasting, & metal photo. Engraver since 1975.
Mark - thanks!
I was worried I was fixing to have to go back and put some clear coat all over the county.... I too thought it was very weather friendly according to the company I buy from here locally...
Steve Beckham
Epilog Mini 24 with 45 Watt, Ricoh GX 7000 Sublimation, Corel X3, Corel X4 and PhotoGrav, Recently replaced the two 'used' SWF machines with brand new Barudans.
I'll 2nd Mark's comment, the clearcoat would fail before the acrylic itself would.
Sammamish, WA
Epilog Legend 24TT 45W, had a sign business for 17 years, now just doing laser work on the side.
"One only needs two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duct tape to make them stop." G. Weilacher
"The handyman's secret weapon - Duct Tape" R. Green
Two reasons: the items are multi-piece, and even though they are fused with weld-on, there are still small cracks in the joints: I was hoping to keep gook out of the cracks (Unless there's a thicker glue?). Second, I was hoping to keep the surface as glossy as possible. I love how acrylic holds up, but it's still pretty soft.
Marc Myer
Epilog 35 mini
There are thicker glues, even silicone would work, but with weldon the bond is from the two pieces melting together so it can't be beat.
Sammamish, WA
Epilog Legend 24TT 45W, had a sign business for 17 years, now just doing laser work on the side.
"One only needs two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duct tape to make them stop." G. Weilacher
"The handyman's secret weapon - Duct Tape" R. Green
Filling the cracks is just what I'm looking for but does it wipe cleanly off the surface and allow the natural shine of the acrylic to remain? Are there tricks to make that happen? Does it look good from both sides (I've got a customer that wants a hanging sign - visible from both sides)? Also, we're just talking about filling the "kerf" from the laser so there's not much adhesive area to be seen, but does the glue area that IS viewable appear nice and clear? Thanks for the suggestion!
Camtech water chilled L20 4'x8' 60W CNC laser, CNC router/rotary engraver recycled from exhumed parts Corel X3, Adobe CS5 Design Premium, PhotoGrav, VCarvePro, Mach3, WinCNC Wacom Intuos3 tablet, several Macs & several PCs
What about using epoxy doming on it? I have not tried it on acrylic but if it would work it could solve both of the things you were looking for.
Joe Hayes
CRS
Epilog Legend EXT 75 Watt, Epilog Legend 70 Watt,
Xenetech 16x25 Rotary, Vinyl cutters, ect.
Usually for all acrylic stuff that is going outside, I just use a polymer car polish, seems to do the job just fine.
Epilog 45w Helix X3/X5 Corel Microflame Generator (flame polisher) Heat Bender
I woudnt worry about filling cracks , I cant see the acrylic scratching as a hanging sign - as to gloss , whatever you put on it will get dulled by rainmarks , dust etc - you would still have to physically clean it to maintain its as new shine.
Rodney Gold, Toker Bros trophies, Cape Town , South Africa :
Roland 2300 rotary . 3 x ISEL's ..1m x 500mm CnC .
Tekcel 1200x2400 router , 900 x 600 60w Shenui laser , 1200 x 800 80w Reci tube Shenhui Laser
6 x longtai lasers 400x600 60w , 1 x longtai 20w fiber
2x Gravo manual engravers , Roland 540 large format printer/cutter. CLTT setup
1600mm hot and cold laminator , 3x Dopag resin dispensers , sandblasting setup, acid etcher
Frank - That sounds like a good plan and since I never seem to have time to wax the car anymore, why not put the stuff to good use? Thanks!
Rodne – I see what you mean and that makes sense. The only intarsia I’ve dealt with before has been stone lying flat and we used liquid akemi to seal it all up and then polished it. As you say, with this hanging vertically it really won’t need it at all. I might worry about it a bit if this were for a climate where you had lots of freezing, blowing rain for fear the moisture might get into the joints and freeze. Fortunately, I moved away from such a climate many years ago ;-)
Joe - I don't have doming equipment so can't try that, but I think Rodne talked me out of worrying about it anyway. Thanks.
Last edited by Paul Perkinson; 04-18-2009 at 1:44 PM.
Camtech water chilled L20 4'x8' 60W CNC laser, CNC router/rotary engraver recycled from exhumed parts Corel X3, Adobe CS5 Design Premium, PhotoGrav, VCarvePro, Mach3, WinCNC Wacom Intuos3 tablet, several Macs & several PCs
Like Frank, I use a good polymer car polish on just about everything made of plastic, Romark etc. Alumamark, enameled metals etc.. It not only protects the finish, it puts a nice shine on the surface.. Most pieces you make, will never get half the abuse, or UV exposure that a car gets, and it's supposed to last a year on your car...
Epilog 24TT(somewhere between 35-45 watts), CorelX4, Photograv(the old one, it works!), HotStamping, Pantograph, Vulcanizer, PolymerPlatemaker, Sandblasting Cabinet, and a 30 year collection of Assorted 'Junque'
Every time you make a typo, the errorists win
I Have to think outside the box.. I don't fit in it anymore
Experience is a wonderful thing.
It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
Every silver lining has a cloud around it
Future Floor Polish, its acrylic, its tough, it goes on glass smooth, its cheap, it cannot be beat!
Dave
Epilog 35 W 12x24
Adobe Illustrator
Dell PC
One way to minimize kerf issues is to mirror (cut from behind) the piece that is inserted. With enough practice, you'll be able to offset the cut enough to almost make a press fit. Think "//"
Cheers,
Doug
I design, engineer and program all sorts of things.
Oh, and I use Adobe Illustrator with an Epilog Mini.