Lenses are too tight. We received and installed our new lightboxes, which are side-loading design. Then when we tried to slide the clear and/or white lenses (aka “plexi”, plexiglas or acrylic) out to install graphics, we found that the lenses were overly snug in the groove, and difficult to remove. How can we remedy this?
Quick fix. Try applying a small amount of silicone lubricant using a cotton swab, to the edges of the acrylic just prior to installation. You can be a bit more generous with the lubricant on the bottom edge than the top, since there’s not a gravity issue; however, some lubricants may wick upward between lens and graphic if applied excessively, so use discretion.
Could this have been a fabrication defect? During fabrication, our technicians pre-insert the lens(es) into your new lightboxes. Usually the size is perfect because we already know what size to cut the lenses for your size of lightbox. But if when we pre-insert the lenses, we find that they are overly tight, we remove them and shave the edges to fit. Lenses are always pre-installed when shipped, so this precludes an overlooked lens that could otherwise have been cut too large.
Then why don’t the lenses fit now that we’ve received the lightboxes? Often during third-party installations, an installer will anchor the frames to the wall in such a way as to introduce a slight amount of torque or warpage to the frame. All our Performer and Premium frames are aircraft-grade extruded aluminum and the corners are reinforced, but over distance (especially for larger display sizes) it’s easy to accumulate just enough dimensional variance to impede the insertion of lenses, just by being slightly off-square.
Any other solutions? If the above lubrication remedy isn’t sufficient, here are some alternate ideas:
1. RE-MOUNT. You can re-anchor the lightbox to the wall, being careful not to introduce any torque on the frame. This will only work if the snug fit was not caused by the frame being permanently bent the first time it was installed.
2. GRIND THE EDGES. Ask a handyman to grind one or more edges of the acrylic down to fit, using a fine-tooth file or grit wheel. Before he begins grinding, he should pressure-apply some wide masking tape to both faces of the acrylic, adjacent to the grinding area, to minimize chipping.
3. RE-CUT. Or, you can remove the lenses, take them to any local plastics distributor or fabricator, and ask them to cut the edges off as needed. Be careful not to over-cut to the point that the lens edge is visible after it’s installed.