WHATS THE BEST PLASTIC?
– Of the types of plastic I’ve tried, styrene and polycarbonate seem to work best, but acrylic is the most easy to find. Polycarbonate is “Lexan(tm)” or “Tuffak(tm)”, the bulletproof plastic. Acrylic is “Plexiglas(tm) or Lucite(tm), perspex and others. Acrylic can be found at glass shops and large hardware stores. Styrene is commonly found on the “jewel box” cases of music and computer CDs, the plastic covers of framed photos, etc. Softer plastic works a bit better, and tends not to make the “crunchy white” scratches that sometimes happen with acrylic. Slightly greasy plastic is best. Glass won’t work unless you can somehow make a scratch which is smooth and polished. You’d probably have to etch the scratched glass with hydroflouric acid (nasty stuff.) However, you could experiment with different types of diamond scribing tools with glass. I’ve never tried it.
