Thread: Some kind of plastic needed
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23-03-2013 #1
Title is a bit vague for a reason, as I'm hoping somebody here can point me in the right direction.
I've got some LED matrix displays that I need to use outside, however in bright light they're not visible. After some experimenting last year, we found placing a piece of cloth in front of them makes them visible, however that's not exactly an ideal solution for something that's getting used outside. So I'm looking for some kind of tinted (or possibly thin fully coloured might work) plastic to place in front of the matrix's, with ideally some kind of matt finish to minimise glare.
I've never had much dealing in sheet plastic, so has anybody got any idea for what I'm looking for, and where I might get some small offcuts to try before commiting to the full size needed?
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23-03-2013 #2
A little trick you can use is to use the spray paint for glass that creates the obscured effect like for bathroom windows. just use a light coat.
If the nagging gets really bad......Get a bigger shed:naughty:
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23-03-2013 #3
Must be an old age thing as I'm having problems visualising what you want to do lol, what sort of thickness plastic are we talking about & what's it to be fitted to? First thought would be self adhesive vinyl but I might be missing something.
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23-03-2013 #4
frosted acrylic might do the trick
opaque acrylic might be a bit too restrictive unless its really thin
it shouldn't cost to much to buy a slack hand full of various bits and bobs to try
if you have access to a sand/shot blaster you could do both sides of a clear acrylic sheet to stop the glare on the outer face?
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23-03-2013 #5
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23-03-2013 #6
This is the smaller display I've been using for testing -
110_MatrixDisplay by mc_mtb, on Flickr
As you can see, when it's dark it's nice and clear, however during daylight you can't really see the lit LEDs.
Here's the display in daylight, with what we bodged over it to make it visible (it's not powered up, as I'm not sure where I've put the controller for it at this present moment - I tidied up last week!)
LED Matrix by mc_mtb, on Flickr
Vinyl may work, and I know where I can get plenty offcuts. Not sure why I never thought of that.
However I've discovered the plasticshop do samples, so I've ordered some of their frosted samples in dark shades (midnight black, slate and stone grey), as it should give me the finish I'd ultimately like to acheive.
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24-03-2013 #7
May if missed the point here but you can buy frosted vinyl no problem. If it needs cutting to a certain shape let me know and I will run it through my vinyl cutter
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