Sand Blasting Mirrors

[Mark Macomber]

I've done a lot of designs on "Glass" mirrors, but has anyone had any experience with Acrylic Mirrors?

[Mike Jackson]

Mark,
You can probably knock the mirror finish off the back of a piece of mirror plex, but it is difficult to etch deep into the plastic as you can with glass. The sand just bounces off. You can blast the front, but it will likely be more of a frosted finish than a good etch. But the best advice is to just give it a try on a piece of scrap plex.

Good luck,
Mike Jackson

[Roderick Treece]

My question would be why use mirror plex ? You can do all the thing Mike talked about with it but deep carve. The only application I can think of is using it for a fun house mirror so you could bend it.

[Lee Littlewood]

Well, what if you wanted to hang something above a pedestrian area? I'd much rather have an acrylic piece hovering over me than a piece of glass...
The time I wanted to use acrylic (job didn't come through) was for a "stained glass" projecting sign over a sidewalk.

The nicest thing I have seen done with acrylic is when it is routed into and then edge-lit - the light carries much further than in glass. I imagine one could do that with an acrylic mirror. And of course with LED lighting one has less heat to disperse and low voltages.

[Mark Macomber]

Well, what if you wanted to hang something above a pedestrian area? I'd much rather have an acrylic piece hovering over me than a piece of glass...
The time I wanted to use acrylic (job didn't come through) was for a "stained glass" projecting sign over a sidewalk.

The nicest thing I have seen done with acrylic is when it is routed into and then edge-lit - the light carries much further than in glass. I imagine one could do that with an acrylic mirror. And of course with LED lighting one has less heat to disperse and low voltages.

This is exactly the reason I am considering acrylic; I did a test-drive on a small piece, and had no issues. (I still prefer glass though)