lighting plexi up?
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Lights, Neon, LEDs, HIDs
Forum Discription: Under Car Lighting, Strobe Lights, Fog Lights, Headlights, HIDs, DRL, Tail Lights, Brake Lights, Dashboard Lights, WigWag, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=107506
Printed Date: May 03, 2024 at 3:34 AM
Topic: lighting plexi up?
Posted By: carguy411
Subject: lighting plexi up?
Date Posted: September 17, 2008 at 10:21 AM
can someone explain exactly how to do this.
do you put the tubes or leds on the edge or under the plexi?sand the edges? and does it mater the tickness of the plexi? i was planning on 1/4 or 3/8 ..
please someone explain
thank you 
Replies:
Posted By: chillin420
Date Posted: September 17, 2008 at 1:53 PM
yea i normally use leds. just rough up the part you want to light up and it will work fine. thickness doesnt matter.
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you can do it....
advanced MECP, lol does it really matter....
patience is a virtue
Posted By: carguy411
Date Posted: September 17, 2008 at 2:33 PM
the thing is i dont want to see the leds or the tubes. shouild i put them underneth or do i have to drill the leds in to the back edge of the plexi??
Posted By: carguy411
Date Posted: September 18, 2008 at 2:08 AM
or if anyone has picks or diagram that would help to
thanks
Posted By: chillin420
Date Posted: September 18, 2008 at 3:28 PM
i would put them underneath so not visible from trunk area. should be hidden by the amp. drill a little hole in the plexi and glue the led in.
-------------
you can do it....
advanced MECP, lol does it really matter....
patience is a virtue
Posted By: carguy411
Date Posted: September 18, 2008 at 11:37 PM
or should i do a neon or cold cathode tube from undernethe seem to bee a more even glow . ir drill 4 white leds centered underneeth?
thanks
Posted By: bigjohnny
Date Posted: September 28, 2008 at 9:05 PM
i believe t he lights have to be on the edge of the plexi, thenany part that isnt smooth (say en etched logo or something) will glow when the light is on.
Ive done it on a buddies computer before, he had this nice etched plexi side panel, I added some LEDs to the top edge of it, and it made the graphic etched on the plexi glow and wicked blue, but only the graphic glowed, the edges also glowed, but the actual face of the plexi itself wasnt showing any light..... made scratches show up really well though too lol.
Posted By: megaman
Date Posted: September 28, 2008 at 9:09 PM
I just did this yesterday. I took 4 LED's and drilled them into one edge of 1/2" plexi. The edges of the plexi were 'frosted' by sanding them so that they were smooth but not transparent. When they light up, all the edges light up. They will show any scratches on the top and bottom of the plexi, so you have to be careful.
Posted By: carguy411
Date Posted: September 29, 2008 at 11:32 PM
ok so i was going to put some neon underneth it but now that your saying with the leds on the edge is better.or maybe rout out the plexi in the middle and drop in the neon tube?/.also i tried on a scrap piece today sanding the edges they came out something like that but you still see the swa marks. what grits should i use and how can i get rid of that. should i do it by hand or an orbital sander or something like that ?
Posted By: bigjohnny
Date Posted: October 08, 2008 at 6:54 AM
you need to sand it with progressivly finer paper, and sand until the saw marks are all gone.
What you would want to do is leave an extra millimeter when you make the inital cut, and then run that across some sort of sanding device that will give you a straight edge.... depending on the plastic an electric planer MIGHT work.
go as fine as you can with the sandpaper, you want the edges that youwant lit up to be "frosty", which wont be done with rough sandpaper.
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