Abstract: A plastic article that includes a plastic substrate and a thin film sputter-deposited on a surface of the plastic substrate. The plastic article is produced by a process in which the surface of the plastic substrate is first bombarded with an ionized gas in a vacuum environment to remove contaminants on the surface, to clean the surface, and to expose pores clogged by the contaminants in the surface. Subsequently, a thin film is deposited on the cleaned surface of the substrate by sputter deposition. A light guide plate for a backlighting device, and a housing for an electronic device, such as a cell phone, may be produced via the process.