How does Proofgrade acrylic hold up to the elements?

Perfectly!

I made this decorative license plate from Proofgrade white and blue acrylic in 2019. The letters are glued on with ordinary superglue.

It’s been exposed to the elements for 27 months now, and has gone through more than a dozen car washes. Other than a little rock chip from a truck kicking up debris on the highway, it looks just like the day it was made. The acrylic hasn’t discolored at all, nor has it become cracked/brittle.

Thought I’d share in case anyone ever searches this question in the future.

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My license plate frame has held up wonderfully since 2019. the only issue was a part of the design I made too thin and I broke it off while drying the car.

It’s been through snow, rain, extreme heat, a car wash a week for the last two years, and was still fine. I only recently made a new one to support a rear camera we wanted on the car, without drilling holes into the car.

I did fix my too thin design part and it’s again, holding up great. I used proofgrade black, red, white, and green. No discoloration, no cracks, and regular super glue has kept the whole thing all together.

I was going to take a picture of the old one…but I seem to have lost it. Oops.

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This is something I’ll have to try! We currently have one that was done at a local festival 5 years ago that has a pic of our farm on it. It has become very faded, so it’s time for a new plate. Time to get to designing!

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I did a frame too. I originally did the lettering by paint filling an engraving with white acrylic paint.

The frame held up but the paint didn’t – over time it dried out, shrank and flaked out of the engraving. I replaced it with white acrylic for the lettering. I’ll have to take a picture of v2 at some point.

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That’s good news! Thanks for the info.

It’s the UV exposure that will eventually kill acrylic. Surprised that “Leaf” was available for a custom plate without a number behind it. Nice. I was ready for a 1, 2, or 3 but got lucky too.

Now I need a frame with a custom message. I’m more than happy to pass the gas stations. :thinking:
I did engrave a cover for the charging outlet. :grin:

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I had an emblem that I 3d-engraved from PG Black acrylic, painted.

It only lasted a few months before becoming brittle and started to fall apart. Car has never been thru a car-wash (I applied ceramic shortly after I got it.) It was exposure to sunlight, when I removed it, it fell to pieces.

They do make UV-blocking clear coatings.

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My hobbit hole (floor and walls made of painted acrylic) has been embedded in the landscape since April 2020 and is still going strong, whereas nearly all the wood in the installation has rotted quite a bit, despite being coated in resin.

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I have been testing this too. People kept saying that the sun will cause the colors to fade and the weather change will make it brittle. So I have had some scrap acrylic out on my back porch to test this.

So far no issues. Maybe they mean it takes years… and years. Because I have not seen any issues yet.

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