Black acrylic dash too shiny?

[SamR]

I’m just about to start building a fiberglass electronics box to sit on my console and am going to go with a face cover of acrylic or poly for flush mounting electronics. I’ve been kicking around the ideal of toning down the plastic by sanding it to remove the glare. Has anyone done this or have thoughts on staring at shiny black all day?

Many thanks,
Sam

 

[Efx]

Look at older acrylics on Parker’s, Grady whites and whalers. They are smoked brown in color or even greenish. Also to reduce glare on transparent materials you can use films. Look at 3m.

 

[SamR]

I would definitely go with a cast 3M product if I was going that route, but the cut edge is going to be exposed. Maybe I'll see if I can beg some scraps from a local shop and mess round with etching and sanding before committing.

 

[warthog5]

I build them in alum....Then epoxy prime, base coat/clear coat SILVER.

I use a High Impact Clear.

I'll post a pix of the last one I did this evening....

Acrylic is brittle and chips easy.