Prevent light escaping around marquee

[Gambit]

I ran into a problem during assembly that I did not find information on, so I thought I would post the result in case anyone else ran into the same thing. Feel free to yell at me for mistakes, or better yet thank me for trying to help.

I bought custom marquee and cut the plexiglas myself, and used painted aluminum brackets on top and bottom.

When turned on, and in the dark, you could see light escaping on the left and right side of the marquee. It really distracted from the nice graphics of the marquee to have light coming around the edges.

First I thought the fit wasn't tight enough, so I added black weather stripping to the edges behind the marquee.  Still had the same problem.

When removing I noticed the back plexiglas was doing this fiber-optic thing with light actually shooting out the edges like a flashlight.

Simply using a black permanent marker to paint the very end edges of the plexiglas stopped all light coming from the edges.  Now it looks perfect.

[BamBam]

Thanks Gambit.  I am getting ready to add the graphics to my marquee.  You may have prevented an exercise in frustration.

John

[RandyT]

The black marker may fade over time, depending on the variety used.

I found that a neat application of electrical tape, folded around the edges, can make a subtle black frame that will prevent any light escaping at the edges. 

A more "pro" approach might be to use some of that rubber edging used by glazers, but the tape works fine if you can run it in a straight line.

RandyT

[DaveMMR]

I have the same problem and I'm thinking of adding a thin line of black paint to the back of the rear plexiglass.   Of course, I also have a problem with my marquee being cut off slightly by the retainers, so I have to fix that problem first.  See my PA thread (Centipede Cab - 1st cab 2nd try or something like that) for my $25 problem.