[JustJimAZ]

For illusions like Pepper's Ghost and the bottomless pit, I need something like plexiglass. Plexiglass is pretty expensive though.

I see that Wal-mart has relatively cheap poster frames that have thin plexiglass or plastic that I could use. It occurs to me that if the whole frame costs $10 retail, then it may be possible to buy the "glass" itself in bigger sizes relatively cheaply. I may put up a pepper's Ghost with a 32" TV, which I think needs a big reflective area. I also want to build light boxes to illuminate X-Rays for my mad Scientist scene. If there is a supplier of cheap clear plexiglass, maybe they would have cheap frosted glass too?

Anyone have experience that could help me out?

 

[Demon Dog]

I was pricing some recently at Lowes. A 36 inch x 72 inch panel, around .09 to .10 inch thick, was going for $50. They had smaller panels also, but I didn't price them. They will cut it down to the size you specify.

Home Depot had pretty much the same as Lowes, except they also had thicker panels. For the same size as above but in a thickness of around .20 inch, it was about $100.

Keep an eye on bowing if you're planning to use a large panel mounted horizontally as the mirror image could be distorted (like a funhouse mirror). That might drive you into using the thicker material. Probably less of a concern if used vertically and supported uniformly around all edges. At least I hope it would be less of a concern, since that is how I am planning to use it

I had contacted one glass company about a tempered plate glass pane of the same size (I forget the thickness), but it was going to be more expensive plus I didn't like the idea of messing with a glass pane that large, tempered or not.

 

[bfjou812]

I've used these folks before ,for some small pieces,http://www.estreetplastics.com/,I checked their website and their prices look pretty good............

 

[JustJimAZ]

Demon Dog - I also checked out Lowes and HD. It just seems too expensive to me. I may change my mind if the thin stuff gives problems.

bfjou - thanks for the site. I think I may use them for the frosted glass, since I have no idea how to fabricate that, and it's not unreasonable.

 

[Evil Bob]

Yeah, what demon dog said. That's what I used in my horse drawn hearse.

 

[MrNightmare]

I bought mine at Lowe's. The one I bought had a crack in the corner and they let me make an offer. I asked they take 60% off and they did! The peice worked great even with the small break in the corner and did what I wanted it to do.

I suggest you do the same if the situation presents itself.

 

[JustJimAZ]

Thanks MrNightmare. If I find myself in that situation, I will definitely ask for a discount.

 

[Xane]

You might want to look up plastics and boat repair/fabrication companies in your area. I get my plexi and lexan from a few places in my area that do nothing but custom work plastics, they also sell it by the sheet and can cut it to whatever size I want. One lists themselves as a plastics company, the other call themselves a boat repair company (mostly custom routing drop-in panels and covers, etc). The last time I went it was cheaper than the big box stores, but it's been a long time since I've needed any.

 

[joshua17ss2]

for frosted glass you can always take a clear piece and get frosting spray Amazon.com: Krylon I00810 Glass Frosting Aerosol Spray Paint, 12-Ounce: Home Improvement

 

[indianaholmes]

If you take a piece of clear and sand it with 220 grit sandpaper it will look frosted. You might want to use a finer paper for a slightly different appearance. There was a thread on glowing footsteps that have pics of sanded plexi. This is it. http://www.halloweenforum.com/halloween-props/77243-ghostly-footprints.html Look at the 9th page. I posted pics of a sanded footstep and that should give you an idea of what a frosted piece of plexi will look like. Hope this helps.

 

[Stinkerbell n Frog Prince]

We've had luck finding sheets of plexiglass at a glass store... asking if it was ok to nab some larger pieces from there scrap bins when we got there they offered us a whole sheet that had a slight warping and they could not return nor sell instead. It's now our endless hallway. Next time we needed a sheet we found it with the local freecycle posting. I've also seen postings of free or cheap plexiglass on Craigslist.

 

[JustJimAZ]

Thanks for the info Xane! There are some marine shops around. I can check them out. I don't know why there are so many boats here in the desert, but there they are!

Joshua - thanks for the tip. I already got the drop cloth and I think it will work for my X-Rays, but I may need the frosted paint for something else.

Indiana/Randy - I use the sandpaper trick to make clear plastic bowls into huge glowing eyes that watch you from my front window. It did look good, I thought. A translucent but not transparent effect. Now that you mention it, I think it would work well for the X-rays too.

Now I have some options if the drop cloth does not pan out!

 

[JustJimAZ]

Thanks Stinkerbell! Endless ideas on this forum. Being a cheapskate, I prefer free whenever possible. After all, it's already crazy to spend so much time and $ on one night per year. Going cheap wherever possible makes it doable for me.

 

[JustJimAZ]

Just happened into Wal-Mart today and found 22"x34" poster frames with plexiglass on clearance for $3.50 each. The frames themselves are in garish colors - I got magenta, green, and red- but the glass is good.

I thought that for this price, it was worth picking them up for future enclosures, Pepper's ghosts, bottomless/infinite props, whatever.

Thought this group would want to know.

Happy Haunting!

 

[DarkManDustin]

I plan on doing a Pepper's ghost with a laptop and/ or Ipod Touch. How would I hold it in place? I know it needs to be tilted. I'm also looking for cheap alternatives .

 

[DaveintheGrave]

I know some members here have used some kind of plastic that comes on a roll for a peppers ghost. I think it's used for covering your windows in the winter and you use a hair dryer to make it shrink to fit tight.
Just make a frame out of PVC as large as you want and cover it with the plastic.

This stuff:
http://www.acehardware.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2627449

 

[bkr1969]

I did a Pepper's effect with my FCG 2 years ago and used the cheap ($7 for an 8 x 10 sheet) window insulating plastic. Taped it taut to a frame then heated it with a hair dryer and it worked perfectly.

 

[kermat13]

wow--would have never thought of that---way to go

 

[DarkManDustin]

How could this be dome with a laptop?

 

[GobbyGruesome]

I did a Pepper's effect with my FCG 2 years ago and used the cheap ($7 for an 8 x 10 sheet) window insulating plastic. Taped it taut to a frame then heated it with a hair dryer and it worked perfectly.

Head just exploded. That could change everything.