Yup, an exposed hoop is pretty tricky to push a light thru.
There is another thread on here, a few months older, where the ember cut the hoop slit thru both sides, made an "internal" tray to mount his light, then put the lens on the exterior hoop face. That way, the light was shielded internally to direct the projection outward only, and the lens provided cover.
He too used a thin acrylic, but if I recall, heated some to shape it.
Interested to see the outcome. No great ideas are easy to execute, and sometimes, a shortage of materials makes them even harder.