Plexi amp rack plate finished !
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Fiberglass, Fabrication, and Interiors
Forum Discription: Fiberglass Kick Panels, Subwoofer Enclosures, Plexiglas, Fabrics, Materials, Finishes, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=44871
Printed Date: April 28, 2024 at 12:41 PM
Topic: Plexi amp rack plate finished !
Posted By: 04r1belgium
Subject: Plexi amp rack plate finished !
Date Posted: December 10, 2004 at 8:02 AM
Hi all, Some of you may remember I planned to make a plexi cover plate for my new amp rack. Well it's finished !  I am going to light it from the 4 sides with 3 high intensity (7000 mcd) blue leds on each side. Will make the logo light up rather nicely. Don't mind my daughter's toys in the background  
Replies:
Posted By: realitycheck
Date Posted: December 10, 2004 at 8:22 AM
Dude how did you do that. That is so awesome man, did you do that by hand? Please inform us man.
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Learning the trade one fiberglass creation at a time!
Posted By: 04r1belgium
Date Posted: December 10, 2004 at 8:25 AM
Well - here goes....
I created the logo in Photoshop, then made a vector file out of it (convert raster to vector).
Then I found me a good trophy shop / printer in the area and sent them the file. They engraved the plexi for me.
It looks GREAT ! I could never have done it this well by hand. They have a computer controlled engraving machine...
Posted By: realitycheck
Date Posted: December 10, 2004 at 8:46 AM
Dude that is an awesome idea. If you dont mind me asking how much did they charge?
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Learning the trade one fiberglass creation at a time!
Posted By: 04r1belgium
Date Posted: December 10, 2004 at 9:09 AM
That's the downside...
Plexi included, they charged me 230 euro (=300$). But as it will be the "eye-catcher" of the entire install, I didn't really mind...
Posted By: 04r1belgium
Date Posted: December 10, 2004 at 9:25 AM
Also got about 250 sq ft of chop mat, several sq foot of fleece, 5 gallons of resin, 7 pounds of polyester filler, 100 pairs of latex gloves, 50 brushes, mixing cups, air filter mask, rollers, and LOTS of MDF.
I think I'm ready to enter the wonderful world of fiberglass...
My first project will be to put my Boston Acoustics Pro 12.5LF and Rockford Fosgate 1051S in my new car...
Posted By: realitycheck
Date Posted: December 10, 2004 at 9:26 AM
Wow, thats a pretty big piece of plexi though, and that stuffs not cheap at all. Great job though man, glad you got it done, get us some more pics up as the progress continues. Thats cool man let us know how it goes, keep the updates coming man.
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Learning the trade one fiberglass creation at a time!
Posted By: chris_h
Date Posted: December 10, 2004 at 4:37 PM
That looks awesome. From the sounds of it you've got a nice project in the works. Keep postin updates! ------------- When you step on the brakes your life is in your foot's hands
Posted By: auex
Date Posted: December 10, 2004 at 6:25 PM
300 bucks, that is insane. That will almost buy a full sheet of 3/4 plexi.
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Posted By: realitycheck
Date Posted: December 12, 2004 at 9:40 AM
Yeah but that is the best logo job on plexi ive ever seen.
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Learning the trade one fiberglass creation at a time!
Posted By: Carbonb
Date Posted: December 12, 2004 at 2:23 PM
It may be a good engraving job but for them not to even have to work for that $300 it is insane.
They put the logo into a program and viola, they get $300 bucks for nothing. That is annoying to myself to see that people can markup stuff so high without any work.
Posted By: realitycheck
Date Posted: December 12, 2004 at 9:27 PM
Yeah I know what you mean, they just mark it up just cause they have the machine and know one else does. Either that or there trying to pay for there new machine.
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Learning the trade one fiberglass creation at a time!
Posted By: Carbonb
Date Posted: December 13, 2004 at 1:27 AM
Yeah, I mean that machine can probably etch any surface, glass, plastic, wood, metal.
I think the machine probably would cost quite a bit, and the software, but imagine if that only cost $100 and they got 6x the business.
Posted By: 04r1belgium
Date Posted: December 13, 2004 at 4:05 AM
Yep - I know it's expensive, but as you said, I think they have to get the cost of their machine out of it. I don't think these computer controlled engraving machines come cheap.
It's a lot of $$$, but as I said, this will be the eye-catcher of the entire install, and I don't mind coughing up a little $$$ to make it look as good as possible.
I could have done it cheaper myself, but it wouldn't have come out nearly as good, and imagine I screw up once and destroy the plexi, I would have to start over which would also cost me money.
Anyway, I'm really happy with it, regardless of the cost.
Posted By: realitycheck
Date Posted: December 13, 2004 at 9:21 AM
Yeah man looks awesome, and yeah I would probably pay it too, just because it looks so awesome. I was just agreeing with carbonb that its just ridiculous that they can mark it up so much just because they have the machine and no one else does.
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Learning the trade one fiberglass creation at a time!
Posted By: ugmoe2000
Date Posted: December 14, 2004 at 4:32 PM
I think it looks great but i would def. not have paid the $300!!! i'm a high school senior and that's not in my budget by any means. I would have made the template printed it out and cut it /w an exacto knife then taken that spray they use to frost windows and sprayed through the template onto the plexi. I would mount it upside down so the stuff couldn't be scratched off. Then continued /w the LED aspect accept i'd point them so that they just shined on the frosted part from a location out of view, perhaps from under it... as a matter of fact i like this idea so much i might do it on my next project...hmmm... thanx for the inspiration this is in my budget now! ------------- 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee
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Posted By: Ravendarat
Date Posted: December 14, 2004 at 5:02 PM
I think that looks awsome and personally would have no problem paying 300 bucks for it. When it comes to the ceter piece of a system, 300 bucks aint a lot of money so long as you get what you want out of it. I think it looks great and wanna see what it looks like in the end.
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Posted By: shingon
Date Posted: December 14, 2004 at 5:34 PM
has any one try sand blasting, i works for me, i tried on glass and wood but not on plexi glass, i guess it is the same, the total cost of a cheap sand blaster is about $400-$500 and is pretty easy to use all you need is tape and xacto knife, and some practice. where can i see picture of you plexiglass.
Posted By: Carbonb
Date Posted: December 14, 2004 at 10:18 PM
I've seen sandblaster attachments for an air compressor.
Let's see the picture of everything put together. ALso what is the cost of the plexi?
Posted By: auex
Date Posted: December 14, 2004 at 10:38 PM
It was stated on the first page, around $300 US.
-------------
Certified Security Specialist
Always check info with a digital multimeter.
I promise to be good.
Tell Darwin I sent you.
I've been sick lately, sorry I won't be on much.
Posted By: Carbonb
Date Posted: December 14, 2004 at 11:18 PM
Well thanking for questioning my ability to read.
I knew how much the piece was that he paid for considering that I stated it in one of my posts.
How much is a piece of plexi that big just to purchase.
Posted By: mv2123
Date Posted: December 20, 2004 at 12:54 PM
dude i would have done that for 50 dollars plus shipping
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