I was testing on an iridescent acrylic sheet and found out that the iridescent part is actually on a film that’s attached to the acrylic. The part without it is just clear acrylic. Is this right? Is there a different kind of iridescent acrylic that doesn’t have the film?
I can’t speak to all iridescent acrylic, but printed acrylic or patterned acrylic is created by printing clear, white, black or some other color with a pattern. Some are printed on both sides, and some are printed on just one side.
The iridescent acrylic is notoriously fragile. I haven’t seen one that isn’t just a film. Not sure what exactly you’re going for, but there are other beautiful, shimmery acrylics that are not surface treatments. My favorite shop is iMaterials on Etsy: A professional decorative acrylics provider by iMaterials on Etsy
Just Google “cast vs extruded acrylic” (it’s common enough that Google will complete the search by the time you finish the ‘vs’ part…)
Extruded is cheap to manufacture - in very simple terms, it effectively pours out onto a continuously moving conveyer belt and passes thru an oven. Cast is poured in precise quantities into trays then cured.