A clear glass whiteboard

Step 6 Final thoughts.

This was an easy project and it was nice to work with my son on it. The glass whiteboard is being used and may end up as a winner. All in all though, the IDEA sounded a lot better than the actual thing.
I think that Numb3ers uses the clear whiteboards so that they can film the actor's face rather than the back of his head while he is writing! It also lets there be more variety in the background than a huge white board.
I would love to hear about someone making a Lexan whiteboard so I could hear how well it works.
There are many other ways that I can think of using a clear whiteboard. I would love to hear some of yours.

Comments

[mlelievre]

Very nice project... my dorm room in university had a large mirror next to the desk with storage behind it... I wrote my notes and to do list on the mirror with dry erase markers... I was still able to use it as a mirror and it was provided free of charge by the school :)

[a.SuperNova.Sun]

I found this extremely helpful. I am trying to build a clear free-standing board for my dorm room. I'm going to use either plexiglass or lexan. As i am familliar with lexan because we use it in robotics i will probably use that. I was worried about ghosting because i did a bit of research but to find that there are ways to remove it, lexan is the way to go. Thank you.

[Gary Viveiros]

It's not only a matter of the ink, but of the constant scratching of both the pen and the eraser felts. As mild as they seem, they still abrade the surface like mild 3M scouring pads when used repeatedly. Once the surface is abraded, then the ink soaks verically into the surface, making cleaning an even more challenging task. This is bad enough on whiteboards, but on clear boards you have an even better mechanism for capillary action, wicking the ink deep into the smooth-surfaced scratch. On whiteboards, you can use harsh chemicals and a slightly abrasive pad or compounding solution to expose a new surface. Plastic scratches are jagged, compared to harder surfaces like glass, so there's even more pockets to hold and dry the ink. I think that's why the Canadian company came up with Smartboards, which are mainly computer projection display devices.

[johnpombrio]

Lexan is definitely the way to go. My son has been using small sheets of it for quick note taking and swears by it. Small sheets of it are available at Home depot for $4 for paper size. Ghosting is not really a problem as long as the marker does not sit on it for months. There are plastic cleaners out there but Windex would probably work as well. If you want to scale up to a large sheet, expect to pay the cost. Frekelface.com has good prices for large sheets. 1/4" minimum for larger sheets, I would go with 3/8" myself.

[mlphilli]

i'm considering using a large polycarbonate sheet as a marker board, but i want to hang it on the wall on its own rather than frame it. i'm wondering if you still think that i should get a thickness of 1/4" or 3/8". if it's hanging on the wall rather than free-standing, would 1/8" work just as well?

[edwards-research]

See my writeup here: http://blog.edwards-research.com/2011/01/do-it-yourself-whiteboard/

I used exactly that (but mounted it on plywood). I also bought the plastic from freckleface!

[johnpombrio]

If it is FLAT against the wall (have to screw it into the studs or use those great helical self drilling Sheetrock bolt holders) then sure 1/8" is fine. You WILL find that you will occasionally MISS the whiteboard though! Heh. The other good aspect of this is that you will not have the contrast problem with a non-backed clear whiteboard.

[johnpombrio]

www.freckleface.com. Look for Polycarbonate sheet. 36" by 48" by 3/8" (or 1/4" if braced well) would be just about right.

[sdpaez]

One nice use of this is if you are filling in data and you have a table on your whiteboard, you could have your table printed on a tarpaulin and attach it on the background... say like the surgery schedule on hospitals... other things like that.

[Guy.Fawkes]

Edge-lighting would make any writing (or smudges) on the glass stand out very well; the writing would seem to glow. I suspect that wouldn't work as well with a black marker, though.

[johnpombrio]

I thought so too, light the edge, light the board. But with regular dry erase markers, it DID NOT WORK. Tried many different colors and two type of media (glass and Lexan). Just not enough light is refracted through the surface to make the letters stand out. The picture you are showing me I am sure is being lit either from behind or in front and possibly by a blacklight.

[sdpaez]

I think it will work only if the marker color is contrast with the background and the marker is on the other side of the glass...

[Guy.Fawkes]

I believe it's grease pencil, actually.

[johnpombrio]

Guy, you're very close. There is a product called wet erase markers that act and feel very similar to a grease pencil. I found the source of those in need to try it out on glass to see how they work. That is what they use on those neat blacklight lit specials boards in restaurants.

[Aniawn]

Would using acid etched glass, or something to that effect, be cost effective to use? It would increase readability while still being semi-transparent.

[johnpombrio]

Again, the WHOLE purpose behind this instructable was to duplicate (at a reasonable cost) the clear whiteboards on the show "Numb3rs" to see how well they worked. In an earlier post I mentioned that I bought a glass whiteboard from IKEA that is frosted on the back and it works very well.

[V1rusZer0]

Another show that used a glass marker board was ReGenesis, it was a Canadian show about genetic engineering. Anyway on that show they used a black light at the top of the glass and then wrote with a fluorescent marker that would glow with the black light. I made the writing stand out quite well.

[gworth]

If you wanted a permanent white surface behind the glass, you could always paint the wall-facing side of the glass with latex paint or spraypaint. But great idea man.

[calimorrison]

Why not use an old window you find at the re-store and just hang it from the ceiling or screw it into the wall???? Or put it on a tripod? Just a thought...I think I'll try it in my new home office! :)

[aviationalyours]

I have a crazy idea, why not write on a window itself if the background doesn't move and is appropriate? Just hang a pen nearby and write whenever you want. Any thoughts about that?

[johnpombrio]

Another good thought that I too had. Three problems. One is that windows are HEAVY! Most windows these days are double paned and heavily framed and insulated. The next is that windows are usually smaller than a decent whiteboard. Finally, I am pretty sure that windows are NOT made of safety glass which I consider essential in ANY indoor glass project.

[EmmettO]

I have a lexan whiteboard that my family uses as a calendar and a to-do list. I chose lexan so that it would be invisible (mostly) to the decor of the room. The wall is grey that it is bolted to. The same would work with wallpaper but a pattern might make the calendar hard to read. We only use black, green red and blue ghost a bit. We found that we can get it off by scribbling over the ghosted color with the black marker. Oh and to make the calendar lines, I got some thin black tape from the office store and laid out lines for the days.

[johnpombrio]

Yep, the ghosting is NOT permanent (as far as I can tell!). I think I got mine off with a wet wipe.. So the ghosting is not a deal breaker nor is the glare. What thickness did you use? Does it flex a lot when you use it or is it small enough that it really does not matter?

[JoCat]

Some fingernail polish remover does wonders to undo ghosting. I've had unfinished proofs scribbled on my whiteboard for extended periods of time; little bit of acetone/polish remover and paper towels wipe it clean.

[johnpombrio]

Interesting. You can use acetone to RENEW an old magic marker (NOT the low odor kind). Take the back off (usually just a friction fit plastic plug off some kind) and put a few DROPS of acetone in and put the back back on. Works well.

[EmmettO]

It's a 3x5 sheet, so a good size, it does flex but it's right up against the wall so it doesn't matter too much for us. If it was free standing, it might be a problem.

[johnpombrio]

There are 1/8 inch thick 3 by 5 foot sheets of Lexan at home depot for $61.

[StephM]

Would it make the writing easier to see if it were lit? Maybe with some LEDs embedded on the inside of the frame pointing towards the glass.