How close can I safely put a splash guard over DIY LEDs?

[baroose_le]

Howdy,
I made a little DIY LED system on a 12 x 4 heatsink with 24 LEDs. The heatsink stays nice and cool with 2 little fans attached to it. I have limited space in my hood and would like to put a splash guard pretty close to the LED array (maybe 1/2 inch?). How close can I put it without melting the acrylic? I just got a sheet of standard acrylic from home depot that I plan on cutting to fit over the heatsink. I also have a sheet of polycarbonate I could use if that would be better

Thanks in advance!

[zachts]

Just leave at least 1/4" between the acrylic and the LED chips. If using secondary lenses the acrylic can touch the lenses no problem. Acrylic is very heat tollerant and will be fine, just support it in many places as it will tend to bend over time and sag if not supported well enough.