I contacted @missy a few weeks ago after talking to @denvermaxx and asked if I could send something showing my appreciation for the site as well as all of the hard work that the SG's and Hopefuls put into making members happy. About a year ago I started making LED backlit etched acrylic signs as part of a new service with my business. There's always something new to learn and this sign provided a few new learning experiences: creating shading by sandblast etching in stages, creating a frame that looked old and rustic, encasing objects in resin, and last but not least, making the resin pieces a part of the frame.
The frame was created using a router to cut out the areas where the acrylic sign and resin blocks would go. I used a few different tools to bang on the frame and create the texture. The staining and sanding process would be repeated several times before being coated with a satin polyester. The gloss layer would be added sort of haphazardly to look like it had worn away.
The next part would be encasing the black roses and bat in resin and making them a part of the frame. The black roses came from a local florist and the bat unfortunately had fallen into a garbage in my basement and died. I would never harm a living thing for art. I carefully wrapped it in a ziploc freezer bag and kept it in the freezer until I was ready to pour the resin. The roses needed to be hung to dry out as much as possible. I used stainless steel wire to create something like reber where the resin was poured to ensure the resin blocks stayed in place. I created forms around the areas for the resin and used form release wax and then release spray to be able to remove the forms. The resin was poured in two stages, with the second stage being poured about 14 hours after the first stage. Total curing time before sanding was around 50 hours.
The next step would be to create a stencil of the SG logo on the computer and then cut it with my vinyl cutter/plotter using a special vinyl that can withstand heavy sandblasting. The vinyl was placed onto the acrylic and I used a weeding tool to remove the necessary material. The areas that required shading would be removed after the initial etching took place. I have a very large sandblasting booth in my shop where I do all of the etching. Once the heavy blasting was done, I removed the last pieces of vinyl and sandblasted those areas from a distance making sure to not spend a lot of time on those areas.
The next step would be to wet sand the resin blocks to make sure they were transparent. Keeping with the old/rustic theme, I only sanded up to 2000 grit sandpaper. I started with 220, 360, 400, 500, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, and stopped after 2000 grit. I wanted them to be transparent but still look like the frame had been found in an old basement and repurposed. I used a cutting compound next and finished them off with a polishing compound.
The next step would be to add the LED strip along the inside of the frame using the double sided tape to secure it in place. The etched acrylic was cleaned with a hydrophobic spray and then put in place. The back piece was screwed into place to secure everything in the frame after testing the lights to make sure they functioned properly. The last step was to get it all boxed up and over to FedEx. As luck would have it, it went out the same day that SG's celebrated their 18th birthday.
This is now my favorite piece that I've created and I plan to take what I learned with this one and make similar pieces in the future.
To all SG's and Hopefuls, you ladies are fucking rockstars and should be proud of everything you do here and the community you all have created.
To @missy @rambo I think I can speak for many others when I say that what you've created here is a place for all of the misfit toys to come together without judgement and feel comfortable being different. We're the rule here and not the exception.
