Framing and Backlighting Lucite Art

This blog post brought to you on behalf of, "I couldn't find the info anywhere else."  I am happy to share this with you.  I looked high and low over the internet and couldn't find anything that was helpful.  Enter the knowledgeable salesman from Lowe's who helped me come up with this solution.

To start out with, I had a Lucite sign I wanted to frame and backlight.  From the new business I purchased!!!  The former owner had it mounted flat to the wall with a fabric swagged over it, then with a gold frame around it.

 The materials I used were:

• Lucite sign
• 1" x 2" boards
• Corner molding (See photo, I'm not sure the "real" name of it.)
• Lights by Mosaic flexible lights (I purchased an 8' kit.)  I found a 4' kit at Lowe's, but it was a better deal to order them on line.
• Two sets of corner brackets
• Wood glue
• Your choice of mounting brackets--I used two D-rings.
• Wood medallions (Optional, I needed to cover pre-existing holes.)
• Black spray paint
• Rub 'N Buff (Optional)
• Miter saw
• Drill 
• Mosaic strip lights*

In Step 1. I had measured and cut my 1" x 3"s to the size of the Lucite (The Lucite will sit ON TOP of the frame so measure and cut to the ACTUAL size of the Lucite.)  Notice, the 1" side will go toward the Lucite.  Spray paint (or brush) your frame.  Step 2, fasten the sides together.  I used corner brackets on both the front and back (I'm sure there are other ways to do this.)  Step 3, I used a wood drill bit to make a hole for the cord to come out on the middle of the bottom board.  In Steps 4 and 5, the corner piece was cut to fit over the top of the 1" x 3" frame.  In Step 6, you can see the space that was used to sandwich the Lucite in between.  In photos 4-6 the Lucite is already on the 1" x 3" frame.  Paint your upper frame pieces.  With the Lucite in place, attach your corner pieces to the sides of the 1" x 3"s with wood glue and clamps.  You can see the previous holes in the Lucite in photos 4-6, those were covered with small wooden medallions attached with hot glue and painted black with gold Rub 'N Buff added.  Add mounting brackets to the back of your "art".

The lights were simple to add.  They have adhesive tape on one side, so all you need to do is peel off the tape and add to the back of your sign.  In my case, I had four 2-foot strips that I connected in a diamond pattern to the back of my logo.  The cord comes down through the bottom.  The lights come with their own remote control, so you can set them to a particular color, or have them fade out, etc.  In my case, I could run the actual power cord through the wall instead of having it hang down--which I may do in the future.  I used the Mosaic lights instead of rope lights because they were lighter and I could attach them directly to the Lucite.

I think it came out very cool (Sorry, I don't have a photo without me in it!).  Best of luck if you do this on your own!