wall mounted acrylic with hidden hardware

[petepaz]

quoting a job with printed acrylic panels that are mounted to the wall at different depths. (3 panels. a base, triangle and pie piece)
customer does not want to see the hardware in the print area. like standoff caps.
any thoughts on how to make this happens?
i am thinking maybe drilling in the back of the acrylic about half way and gluing in some studs and just use spacers off the wall?

 

[eahicks]

How big are the panels? And thickness? We typically use cleats if customer wants no mounting to be seen.

 

[J Hill Designs]

tap and stud would work if its first surface graphics

 

[petepaz]

there are multiple groups of these ranging in size
but as an example one set is base 36" x 21", pie 15"x15" and triangle logo 25"x8"
started off with 1/4" acrylic but if i have to stud mount from the back probably have to go to 1/2" .
just worried about the weight. the customer wants the base to be 1" off the wall and the pie & triangle to be 2" off the wall.
as far as the printing i would be going front surface print so i don't have to worry about damaging the graphics with the mounting.

 

[Billct2]

I would build each as a solid unit and then hang it with heavy duty cleats

 

[J Hill Designs]

I would probably french cleat the main panel to the wall, then tap and stud (or weld-on acrylic to acrylic should work at those small sizes) for the popouts

 

[petepaz]

thanks.
waiting to hear back from my acrylic vendor also, see what he says

 

[jc_0125]

bringing this thread back to life

what did you end up doing to adhere the cleat to the back of the acrylic sign panel? I have a 96"w X 34"h acrylic panel wall mounted and the customer doesn't want to see any standoffs. Did you end up drilling halfway, then use some glue for extra strength?

 

[jwilde]

One of these options may work for you...

https://www.wensco.com/CatSearch/2334/clear-plastic-pad
Weld on and use studs
https://www.johnsonplastics.com/sta...es/rowmark-fisso-ghost-silver-stand-off-4-pkg
Weld on and use multiples (not just corners)

 

[jwilde]

otherwise, if your sold on a French cleat make it out of acrylic and use:
https://www.johnsonplastics.com/tap...p-4-liquid-solvent-for-bonding-acrylics-quart

 

[Andy D]

I'm not super savvy on this type of install but think our installers always used stud pads with 100% silicone.

 

[jc_0125]

otherwise, if your sold on a French cleat make it out of acrylic and use:
https://www.johnsonplastics.com/tap...p-4-liquid-solvent-for-bonding-acrylics-quart

If I want to use the standard aluminum french cleat, double sided tape would most likely fail over the years, and there's no bonding agent between aluminum & acrylic i presume

 

[jwilde]

I personally don't buy 100% into the VHB applications because they have not always stood the test for me. I do use them a lot, but for me I would shy away from them on this applications. As for acrylic to aluminum, you could try a signlok 406 or something equivalent, but I would do a shear test. I haven't done this mix of materials and can't attest to its success, but Lords glue is awesome.

That said, making a French Cleat is super basic and you can make it our of anything. Just put a 45 degree cut on two pieces... Mount one to the wall and one to the sign. I make them out of Aluminum, Gator, Sintra, Acrylic, wood... It really doesn't matter the material.

So for this case router out a couple of .25" acrylic rectangles and 45 one edge on each. I like to put the same width spacers at the bottom of the sign so it sits correctly... So router a couple of small squares to weld towards the bottom corners for simple spacers.

 

[petepaz]

bringing this thread back to life

what did you end up doing to adhere the cleat to the back of the acrylic sign panel? I have a 96"w X 34"h acrylic panel wall mounted and the customer doesn't want to see any standoffs. Did you end up drilling halfway, then use some glue for extra strength?

i quoted using the glue on pads and studs but the order never came through

 

[ddarlak]

I'm not super savvy on this type of install but think our installers always used stud pads with 100% silicone.

i use these all the time, i stopped using silicone and just use VHB, cover the circle 100% and it sticks solid

 

[fastmax]

bringing this thread back to life

what did you end up doing to adhere the cleat to the back of the acrylic sign panel? I have a 96"w X 34"h acrylic panel wall mounted and the customer doesn't want to see any standoffs. Did you end up drilling halfway, then use some glue for extra strength?

i use 2p10 adhesive for attaching things to acrylic, and i try to scratch it up or do some tiny holes to help it grip, i even drill through the z clips so the glue can seep through

 

[jc_0125]

i use 2p10 adhesive for attaching things to acrylic, and i try to scratch it up or do some tiny holes to help it grip, i even drill through the z clips so the glue can seep through

ended up using the stud pads with silicone. worked well