Contemporary Street Number Plaque

Step 2 "Frosting" the Lexan

The Lexan wouldn't make the numbers pop out if it were left clear, so I "frosted" it a bit by sanding it. This particular piece of polycarbonate has UV protection on one side, so it bears noting that you should sand the non-protected side and mount the numbers on the protected side. The protective film says that the "non-printed" side is UV resistant, so we start with the other side. Just peel off the film, but make sure to leave the film intact on the other side for now.

I started with several passes using 150 grit, making sure to make overlapping, even passes. When it really started to lose its transparency, I switched over to 220 grit and made several more passes. The 220 grit might not really be necessary, but it certainly made it nice and smooth.

Once I was happy with the finish, I cleaned it off with some glass cleaner and flipped it over to start drilling.

Note: Don't remove the protective film yet!!!