colored acrylic

[SavannahLion]

Wow.. solid color acrylics (TAP Plastics) is pretty pricy. I'm going to try and call the store up and see if the store offers a cheaper price. I need a sheet that's approximately 20"x27" thickness depending on how "flexible" the plastic is. I would like to reduce flexibility. Which is another problem. TAPs only offers a thickness of 1/8" for their acrylic.

My goal is to have a panel that's a solid color through and through. So if I drill through it, it doesn't change color. Yes... I can paint the color inside but I'm affixing clear acrylic pieces inside the holes so every solution I can think of ends up marring the paint. My newest idea involves a sheet of unknown white material, affix the acrylic pieces in the holes. Set the whole thing inside of a frame and pour a clear setting resin onto the box to hold the acrylics in places. Something similar to the tables you see on this site except the resin will be on the back, not the front.

[Dervacumen]

In the store I've seen pieces that size in their scrap bins.  I picked up pieces for as little as $1.00 for about 1'x1'.  I don't think I've ever seen thicknesses other than 1/8" for colored acrylic.  But it's pretty rigid at that thinknesss.

[SavannahLion]

Well, I spoke to the staff on the phone and the only truly opaque acrylic stuff they had is 1/8". They did offer up another solution which is thicker, easier to drill (I like to crack acrylics when I shape it ) is PVC. To my surprise, you actually can get clear solvents for PVC (I've only ever seen colored PVC solvents) which, according to them, they do have clear solvents that also work well with acrylics. For instance, they offered up E-6000 as a possible solution. From what I've read, it's seems to be akin to silicon with its workability but tough as nails to remove once cured.

But PVC presents its own problems and I might have to think about such a choice a little more.

[selfie]

You should be able to get black, white, clear and opal(translucent white) in lots of thicknesses. I have all of those in 4.5, 6, 10, 15, 20 and 25mm thick. Black is the only one that is truly opaque.

I have access to one blue, one red and one yellow acrylic thicker the 3mm. Even then, those only come in 4.5mm. I do know that thicker coloured materials are available in Europe. None of this is any help to you...

Laminating is an option. There are special laminating solvents for acrylic.

What exactly are you trying to achieve? If you paint inside the holes, the clear can be secured to the panel from underneath without disturbing the paint finish

[sandheaver]

I like to crack acrylics when I shape it

I read somewhere the other day that the key to shaping acrylic properly is to scrape it, and not cut it.  Scrape away the hole or cut, don't actually cut it.  Hard to explain, but it boils down to using really dull bits & blades on acrylic & going more slowly than you're used to, I believe.

Here it is: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,119165.msg1262523.html

[ChadTower]

It's vibration that causes the cracks.  I always have best success when I sandwich the acrylic between two pieces of wood and drill/cut that way.  Almost entirely prevents the acrylic from vibrating when the bit is doing its work.

[selfie]

Acrylic is a very hard and very brittle material. When you drill wood and metal the swarf bends as the spiral of the drill bit cuts it away from the panel. The acrylic swarf will not bend when it is cut so the drill bit digs in and then breaks away the material from the panel causing the cracking, this is why a slow drill speed doesn't always prevent cracking. Blunt drill bit "work" as they heat the material, through friction, as the blunt edge slowly cuts.
By scraping, rather than cutting the swarf is disconnected from the panel as it is removed.