I start by scanning the backside of the windows and doors. I load then the image into my CAD program. I use TurboCAD. Perhaps Photoshop, Illustrator, InkScape can be used as well, but I like the convenience of the CAD. In it making parallel or perpendicular lines is a breeze. However, out of several CAD programs I tried only TurboCAD allows to load a picture and trace over it. It has been some time since I did the research though. Things may have changed.
After I load the image into TurboCAD I trace over the areas where window "glass" should go.
Then I copy the tracings, rotate, copy them. The end result of this step looks like this.
I print it, glue it to the acetate using rubber or paper cement to make sure it stays in place while I am cutting, but still is easy to peel off.
I put cut out acetate pieces into a container with rubbing alcohol for 10 or so minutes to remove fingerprints and whatever else might be there. I take them out with a pair of tweezers, touch the edge of the acetate against a piece of paper towel or coffee filter to remove the excess of the alcohol, dunk in a clear acrylic and place then on the back side of the windows and doors. In this case I am using semi-gloss acrylic for somewhat dirty appearance. I also use a mixture of semi-gloss and matte for dirtier windows and gloss for the clean ones.
Note. The second pair of images are of Wilikers and the first one is form different project.
