White Acrylic Sheets for Sign Making

[tkaz]

I'm giving making my own sign a shot on a CSS machine, and I'm looking for some white acrylic sheets (some research shows that #7328 white is the best for a backlit sign).  Has anyone had any luck finding it at any of the big box stores like Home Depot or Lowes?  I'm going to start looking tomorrow to see what I can find before I order some. 

Anyways, I got some clear acrylic sheets and sandblasted them, and I was somewhat happy with the results, but they are still a little too clear for my liking.  I'll post some results when I get done.

[coke_and_stuff]

a local sign shop may be your best bet. I have bought them in the past out of their scrap bins for pennies on the dollar. Then they win twice as I had them cut the vinyl for the sign.

Joey

[loman4ec]

I used to buy from a plastic company name Cadillac Plastics in Cincinnati Ohio. But there should be a plastic company in your area and like joey said the small parts you need you may find for next to nothing

[perhoades]

Any standard sign company will sell it to you. In southern California there is a distributor called sign-mart that sells pretty much everything plastic and sign related you could want.

[MoonDawg]

        I got the  #7328 Acrylic from estreetplastics.com. It was shipped to me in a 24" X 36" sheet, 3/16 thick, enough to make 4 signs but I think you may be able to get a smaller piece.
        I apply vinyl letters on it and then a cut clear 1/16" sheet the same size to cover the front for protection and gloss.
       Just curious, why would you want to sandblast the clear?

[tkaz]

I got pretty lucky on this deal, I put a wanted ad on Craigslist for some white plexi, and a guy contacted me saying he had some.  He worked at a sign shop a long time ago and had a few big sheets, he cut me 10 panels, all to size.  The best part: it was all free; he had a whole set of picnic coolers and an old Ideal 85, and he was happy to give it to someone looking to use it for a soda machine.

As for the sandblasting, I was trying to see if it would dissipate light enough to make a good sign, didn't work out too well.