Sign for a barber shop. Edge-lit cast acrylic, engraved on the back face mirrored, lit from the bottom edge with a warm strip in an aluminium channel.
What I got wrong first
My first two attempts engraved too deep. For edge-lighting you want a shallow, dense engrave that scatters light — deep grooves just read as grey scratches. Third attempt: 25% power, 3000mm/min, single pass, 1000 DPI. Light and dense.
Cast, not extruded
Cast acrylic frosts white and lights beautifully. Extruded goes clear-ish and dull. The price difference is pennies and the visual difference is the whole job.
Masking
Taped all edges except the lit one. Light escaping from the other three edges kills contrast — with the tape on, the engraved artwork is dramatically brighter.
Engraving mirrored on the back also protects it from being scratched when the sign gets cleaned.
