Teach It Tuesday: Techniques for lighting PlexiGlass

Bryan Hale walks you through a couple different techniques to add a touch of light to your plexiglass projects.
At GP Rod and Customs we try to give you techniques and instructions to do some of the more challenging projects at home as DIY projects.
If there is something you are having trouble with and would like us to cover it on a Teach It video just shoot a request in the comments. We look forward to hearing from you and sharing the knowledge.
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[@dnyce0013]

Every question I had about working with this stuff for a project answered in one short video. Thanks my dude

[@playsomething4029]

Thank you for this short video sir. It's the 21st century, it's time we break away from the boring and basic and make some seriously beautiful designs!

[@channel182]

Thank you for sharing! This is a great way to diffuse led light. I’m going to be incorporating this in a project in the near future.

[@dennisweber4640]

Thank you for showing these techniques! I really appreciate having this knowledge.

[@maxgomez4305]

This is soo cool. Thank you for showing us this awesome mod. Now time to take on a project! 💪🏻

[@johnnykipp8662]

I just figured out how I'm going to build a custom set of tail lights for my 1978 XS400 Cafe Racer project to match my Mach1 tail lights. Thanks for this, very good instructions, thanks for sharing, subscribed for sure!

[@martinsnibbor7691]

Found your channel by accident, man I miss those days of doing custom installs. I remember back in the days installing a pullout radio in a Rabbit was exciting. Those skills became handy I’m an Electrician now I had to subscribe .

[@rllm133]

Nice video Bryan, been making acrylic lit signs for a while now and actually learned something new after watching. BTW that's a chamfer that Trojak is referring to.

[@ce373]

Thank you for taking time to do this video!

[@MrKurokitsune]

NIce Tutorial, easy and simple, looking forward to see more plexi glas lighting ideas

[@atomabc]

Thank you Brilliant video. Just what I needed for my diy led job. Thank you

[@biggpoppaz28]

Quick simple to the point love it thanks

[@nonyabiznass8930]

Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.

[@enthoo7902]

Great video, thanks for the information! Very helpful.

[@annthhallaaa5819]

Thank you so for this video. Good look with your work.

[@griffo3043]

Thankyou sir new I needed to frost but without a sand blaster needed the grit. Handy video.

[@leonardodalongisland]

FYI: you can buy the Plexi already frosted "P95"

[@tintshady2049]

Great video, straight to the point with no BS. Kudos, sir

[@dnyce0013]

I was thinking the exact same thing. I do a lot of art projects and have ti do a lot of research sometimes to get it all done .. usually that means watching multiple videos and reading tons of material, but this video answered everything I needed in such a shot time, pretty awesome

[@youtubkeeper]

Very helpful - exactly what I wanted to know!

[@freddysosa8921]

Awesome video! Thank you

[@Andysworkshop101]

Thank you, great tips!

[@arthinkers8766]

I did like it! Thank you !

[@vibhavsingh9533]

Thnx for the information man it was really useful.....

[@FACR-nl2zn]

Thanks for the Free 99 knowledge. Just subscribed 👍🏼

[@antonioharbor]

Thank you so much for this video🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@vbplayar]

Great video ... thanks so much

[@anyutubenamesleft]

Like this guy he is as real as it gets

[@rnwgg1]

Thank you so much Sir! Subscribed!

[@jewdd1989]

What a cool idea

[@myoneblackfriend3151]

Learned, liked, and subscribed.

[@210Designs]

Love it!!!! I’m locked in sir 👌🏾

[@210Designs]

GP Rod and Customs - No worries sir, totally understand 👌🏾 I do custom builds and installs, as a hobby of mine. Helping the Oklahoma locals, that are on a budget, but still wanna bump. Im wanting to add some swag to my builds, but the Mobile Solutions equipment is a little out of my price range 😆 Can you show some alternatives, in getting the custom craftsmanship? Tools, tricks and any tips would be appreciated by me and my customers. Thanks in advance!

[@210Designs]

GP Rod and Customs - That’s awesome. Thank you for responding 👌🏾

[@superchile9640]

Awesome. Thank you Sir

[@jackson-aka2gs749]

kick ass dude! thank you!

[@unkownyoutuber4726]

Keep the tech on plixi coming plz good video

[@gthmcty111]

Thank you soooo much for shedingsome light on a subject tat has baffledme for th longt time!!! i was tryig to desgn sometailights wth this effect adnowthat I see how simple it is, it is crazy simple!! Subbed!!!!!

[@technoautomated]

Nice one! So simple…

[@mugget]

Great stuff - I’m trying to figure out how to light a twinwall polycarbonate ceiling panel in a van, will try some frosted spray paint. Guessing (and hoping) the face of the polycarbonate will act the same as the face of acrylic sheet. 👍

[@skurniyantomappadang]

thanks for share this video...

[@lezmac3104]

Thanks..subscribed already!!

[@dosher101]

Awesome...thanks

[@jeremyscoville6972]

Super helpful! Loving the fact that you ran your wires into a 12 volt Milwaukee battery for power 😂

[@rameshpram1444]

Thank you brother

[@dave5833]

Great video gives me some ideas for my BelAir

[@elmehdi8180]

Thanks man 👍

[@prashanthb6521]

Thank you sir.

[@39FORTYWATER]

This is what I been wanting to do years ago. I just don't have the tools shop and the lights. No excuses now....I just will have to skip lunch at work for few days. 🤣😎

[@FrostElement]

Hello. Thank you for sharing. Do you also sand the edge where the lights are placed? Or is that side clear(not sanded)?

[@DCDLaserCNC]

You could also leave it clear and either laser (raster) or router a design into the surface and then edge light. It will make the design light up through the surface. Great video and thanks for sharing.

[@cranechiropractic2678]

Hi Bryan, Thank you for a great video. I am building a sign and would like to back light it using plexiglass. Is it possible to back light so that all four frosted edges are lit up. Would it work put the light strips on the back side rather than the edges?

[@taylor-1147]

Bryan when you are edge lighting do you sand the all the edges that you want to edge light? When you are sanding the top do you need to polish the edges? You are the first person I saw doing this and I’m about to try to build a console for my Silverado and want to incorporate this it. Thanks for any help with this. Kept up the awesome work/videos!!!!

[@nathanwahl9224]

Cool beans, thanks, exactly the info I was looking for! I'm using a piece of 3/8" Lexan between my bass guitar amp and cabinet as a platform for the amp, with some rubber feet on the bottom; helps keep the cabinet from vibrating the amp, improves airflow vs sitting the amp on the furry carpet the cabinet is covered with. I've got the edges of the rectangle glowing green. I used clear silicone to set the LEDs in. It looks pretty good, but it's a little dim; I was never quite sure what was the best way to treat the edges until now. I'll try 320 paper or 240. Do you think if there was a rounded profile on the edges, would that help any vs. just flat? Also, I was wondering here in Covid Jail if I could get it to be more intense if I sprayed the flat surfaces with silver paint, and then black. Do you think that would help the edge intensity any? Maybe sand the flat surfaces first? What do you think? Or just get brighter LEDs, I made this like 10 years ago. Thanks, muchly appreciated the video.

[@midosh9980]

Thank you 👍

[@thabigghomie_]

Great thanks & how i bolt the armrest down to the down after

[@watsonlow22]

Thanks for this

[@xxcr4shxx]

I love this idea. I'm thinking about making a front splitter and side skirts, but I have a quick question. Have you tried this with the addressable RGB LEDs like the ws2812 or sk6812? Or would you happen to know how the edges would look with these LEDs while they're running a pattern?

[@stingk5295]

Very Nice !

[@scottismail6311]

Thanks for the video - it was very helpful. One question as I have a project coming up and don't want to waste the limited plexiglass that I have. Does it help the intensity of the light to sand/frost both sides (faces), or is it better to only do one? Thanks!

[@dcphotosmile]

I appreciate you showing this I just subscribe how do you attach the LED to the plexiglass

[@bearsgarage272]

I like the edge lighting. Can i paint the top and bottom instead of sandwiching them between something?

[@JoseHernandez-qk5by]

Nice video Wonder if the edge where you place the led lights on have to be smooth or doesn't matter???

[@donalddurga9742]

Hi Bryan very nice video, I really liked it, good job got a question for you, I have seen a lot of chinese electronics such as bluetooth amps, and amplifiers having a lighted volume control and I would like to use that in my next project, the sanding you did makes sense, but I have to do this in such a way that the light just appears as a ring behind the volume knob, can you help.

[@matthewthomasomeara]

Great video! A couple questions though. First, how do your permanently attach the led strip to the plexi? In your video, you just temporarily taped it in place. Second, do you think there is a minimum width rip of plexi you would need to use to light up an edge? In your video, it looks like about a 4" wide piece. I'm space constrained, so I want a fairly narrow rip.

[@traceyb3752]

HI thanks for showing this great. does it work the same with coloured glass

[@markc2100]

Great. I'm trying to back-lit frosted glass panels 5/16 - for the wall" but LED "hot spots" are visible. Any ideas?

[@tenfour000]

As another comment said: there's already frosted plexiglass. And I've seen multiple kinds of plexiglass also. And very good tip, but my question is does the light strip always show unless covered? Or is there somehow to use the lighted plexiglass without covering the light strip and the light strip not show itself as much? Thanks for the tip, if there wasn't already frosted plexiglass, this How To video is a great help.

[@paulraycastillo2238]

Liked and subscribed 💯

[@shicaotb2]

Dude please do more LED lighting and Plex videos

[@charlesjuett7445]

I hope you see this I know it's been posted a long time ago. I'm going to frost the plexiglass and then I plan on using automotive paint candys to make patterns on it. My goal is to have the light come through the candies. Do you know if I clear coat the finished product will it restrict the light from passing through the top of the plexiglass as if the surface was not sanded at all?

[@neptunedawn7121]

I am thinking of using acrylic panels for stair railings instead of those boring steel railings. I get that you use a fine grit sander to create tge frost effect on acrylic. Are there stencils that can be used so the area covered by the stencil is clear but the design is frosted? I have to review the effect that light will have on it.

[@davidcuevas788]

Where did you buy your plexiglass router bits? Awesome video 💯💯

[@charleslafleur496]

When making door armrest with plexiglass in the middle. How do you guys mount them all together as one piece?

[@alexmuccilli]

Ever try using foil on the parts of the plexi that are covered to bounce the light back down into the exposed parts?

[@joncamp9126]

Question: I want to make an entire 5 ft panel of this. In your experience is this doable on sizes that big or bigger? I was also reading about light guide panel. Have you worked with it as well and do you like one over the other? Thanks for any help!

[@bemindful924]

A question. Can you get the same effect on frosted (single/float) extra clear glass? (without led and without the green border color)

[@alienistic]

Looks awesome! Just wish you would have shown the finished logo or product so we can see how well it illuminates

[@jonathanregis6136]

At last some one that is clear and to the point so to just get the edge to light i sand it ?? is that right

[@joeschlotthauer840]

Can you do a acrylic tube or rod, just by lighting the ends...

[@markedwards4091]

Awesome I have a question about how durable a 4 inch by 4 inch pyramid shape plexiglass would be, is there anything like this, that 🤔 could handle 100pounds at top dead center

[@WT7791]

Are you using any type of sanding around the edges to trap the light in? If so, all sides but where the light is?? Any thing you are using on the plexiglass to make it shine like that?? Would that be the same technique for acrylic? Thank you in advance.

[@RastaOnABike]

i just learnt a trick that will change my life

[@ahgames8431]

Any recommendations on where you buy your material? A lot of the plexiglass that I've found can get pretty expensive.

[@DarthBaeza]

Did you frost the edges???.....or just the top and bottom? What looks BEST for a Liquor shelf?

[@Raven-cf5qd]

Will putting the led strip on the face work?

[@CynthiaZacharkow]

Finding it difficult to get 2 - 7 ft x 1 ft pieces of plexi at a decent price. Would appreciate any recommendations on plexi vendors.

[@MegaRose69]

What type of lights were used for this?

[@raiderragsag5043]

Can i also use frosted glass sticker for that effect???

[@nikkibarry3454]

Can you sand and paint the back side and still make it light up will leaving one side smooth? I want to do a wall in plexi glass that lights up for my kids

[@JayB-ju9vc]

dose it need to be frosted or can you use clear acrylic

[@straight_razor]

It seems like you should be able to use frosted acrylic instead of sanding? We are going to try using frosted acrylic (which is only frosted on one side) then adhere a piece of white or reflective vinyl on the back side to reflect the light out of the front of the panel. any comments or suggestions on this idea?

[@stevenhauptmann5543]

do you have a recomendation of the lights you like to work with?

[@cnrom]

Does anyone know how much of the initial led luminosity is transmitted through the frosted plexi? i.e.: Could you use this for indirect lighting in a room or it would be a huge waste of energy?

[@TeenyTinyDevil]

did you frost the side that shines the light into plexi?

[@turbo3089]

Ty

[@marian_f1704]

Great video! Would the frosing method work for a larger plexiglas pannel, like for example,for a backsplash?

[@MooreCulture]

Yes, absolutely

[@ValleyMustang]

I'm trying to make an LED backlit system that looks just like this. My project that I have going is an RV that I'm trying to make it look all technological like a command center. I want to do a type of flooring like this that would be lit in a blue color. Is there any way to do this? Thanks

[@SandroRovetto1291]

Thank you! I will install rundet acryl furniture legs with neopixel inside - so i have to do the sanded polish too :))

[@Fabbylous]

Is it possible to use pre frosted (mat) plexiglass?

[@joserildocarvalho6510]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻💯

[@nikkibarry3454]

So can you call only sand on one side and get same affect ? I want to do a lit plexi glass wall for my kids

[@invisalinkaccounts2740]

What LEDs did you use for this?