I totally agree!!
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Oof…the tolls and traffic…I know she needs it now, but I’m thinking someone nearby would be able to ship it to her house for less than the cost of toll 
Staten Island to Rego Park by public transport is a good 3 hours each way, probably an hour each way by car.
There’s got to be a sign shop nearby that might sell her some. Maybe try…oh, they moved to Brooklyn…
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Just saw this. Canal Plastics is cheaper…but the parking is…not worth any discount…
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Your daughter’s wedding is your daughter’s wedding. I suspect parking costs aren’t going to be the thing that breaks the budget.
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Lol. It’s not the parking costs, it’s the lack of parking.
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Check Home Depot. My local HD sells 1/8 clear acrylic.
If you do purchase it from HD — remove the clear protectant masking and use your own masking. I think the clear masking could be flammable.
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There’s always parking in NY if you have enough money!
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While that may be true, i think in this case, I’d spend the extra 2 dollars a sheet and go to brooklyn. That shop looks like it’s in a residential area, rather the craziness of Manhattan.
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For future reference, and others reading this, ‘expedite’ just means you pay for a faster shipping service. It can still take the supplier several days for them to assemble and ship the order out.
As stated above, local big-box hardware stores like THD and Lowes sell 1/8 and .118 acrylic, there are several options currently available at stores near me - although they would need to be cut down from larger sheets to fit the GF. They can do that in-store. I have used a fair amount of their thinner stuff (mostly 1/16 or even thinner) but never bought their 1/8" or similar, as I just keep a stock of various materials on-hand. I have a stack about a foot tall of wood and acrylic.
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Most likely extruded. Caveat emptor.
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When I worked in the city, I bought acrylic from Canal Plastics many times and hauled it back with me on the train.
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Yes, it is, but I’ve cut and engraved on it many times. For engraving, however, I typically spray paint thru the engraved away paper masking that I apply to one side.
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Yeah if you’re going to paint your engrave then they’re pretty much the same, save for some fragility and an increased tendency to craze from alcohol in extruded.
You have more patience than me. I never shopped at canal plastic, but i had to go to canal street alot for working, carrying garments with me, and i hated it.
I get my clear acrylic from Lowe’s all the time. It may be extruded, but I’ve never had a problem with it. I just use the dish soap method on both sides on a piece of paper. Most of the time you can see if they have any scrap, which they will sell you cheap or even give it away, as they just throw it away anyway. Even their scrap can have large pieces, but as most people think of using it for windows, etc., even the pieces they think are too small are perfect for us.
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nothing wrong with extruded, just understand it’s limitations. if you engrave on cast, it will give you a nice, consistent white where it was engraved. extruded… not so much. it’s just not as good for engraving. works great for clear cut pieces, tho. (except it stinks more than cast.)
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Eh, it was no big deal. The building where I worked was at 14th and 8th. I could literally go straight from the lobby into the subway, hop on the E train 3 stops to Canal St., and from there it’s just a walk around one block. 10 minutes from my desk to the store, I preordered what I wanted for pickup and I could be there and back before anyone would miss me.
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Cast (PG) on left, extruded (HD/Lowes) on right. The color and opacity of engraves on extruded acrylic is very inconsistent. Look at the “t” where it’s see-through in the middle but not near the edges. I’ll always go with cast for clear acrylic.
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Yep, I see the difference now. Thanks for the pics.
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