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Advice needed on folding screen

jocave

By jocave
in Boat Building & Maintenance

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jocave

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My viking has a four piece folding windscreen, two of the four sections have gone cloudy and crazed in certain areas, I did try and polish these when I bought the boat and then did come up pretty good but now they are looking worse than before, what is the best thing to replace them with ? Heard about Lexan, perspex, acrylic , is lexan another name for perspex? aparantly one is better and more resistant to weathering but unsure if its acrylic or perspex ??

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WotEver Veteran II

WotEverDonate to Canal World

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Posted
27 minutes ago, Graham Davis said:

Lexan is a trade name for polycarbonate/acrylic "glass" which is better than perspex as it is not affected by ultra-violet lights and doesn't shatter when hit.

Not quite right. 

Polycarbonate and acrylic are two different things. Lexan and Makrolon are Polycarbonate.

Acrylic tends to shatter when hit, polycarbonate is more resilient. Polycarbonate isn’t as shiny as acrylic.

Perspex is acrylic. 

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Graham Davis Veteran

Graham Davis

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59 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Not quite right. 

Polycarbonate and acrylic are two different things. Lexan and Makrolon are Polycarbonate.

Acrylic tends to shatter when hit, polycarbonate is more resilient. Polycarbonate isn’t as shiny as acrylic.

Perspex is acrylic. 

Sorry, yes I had them the wrong way around. Thanks for the correction.

20 minutes ago, jocave said:

Polycarbonate or acrylic then ?? Want to get something ordered for the new year so I can make a start? 

Polycarbonate, unaffected by ultra-violet light and doesn't shatter.

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Chewbacka Veteran

Chewbacka

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1 hour ago, WotEver said:

Here’s an article explaining the differences pretty well:

http://coloradoplastics.com/polycarbonate-lexan-vs-acrylic-lucite/

I’d be sorely tempted to look at getting a cost for laminated glass if it’s a simple shape. 

Laminated glass is good - clear, scratch resistant, doesn't yellow - but it is heavy, so make sure the extra weight is ok before swapping.

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Phil Ambrose Veteran II

Phil Ambrose

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1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Polycarbonate can also cloud and craze if exposed to many common solvents, so be careful what you use to clean it and allow near it. It is good stuff though. Riot shields are made from it, so excellent if you regularly boat through dodgy areas!

Jen

Clouding and crazing when exposed to solvents is not peculiar to polycarbonate, all plastics can be effected when exposed  

Phil 

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Murflynn Veteran

Murflynn

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acrylic every time. 

polycarbonate is flexible and is very good regarding impact resistance, it might be ideal for a racing boat screen, but not for a cruiser.  it is used for conservatory roofs, where is is made in a box-reinforced manner to make it rigid.  I have used it for a lightweight wheelhouse roof, but quite unsuitable for a windscreen.

4mm acrylic is relatively rigid, will withstand quite big impacts and can be curved to a radius of about 3ft, and is quite scratch resistant.  the only downside is that you should be careful if you have to drill it near the edge - use a BLUNT drill to prevent star cracking, and don't put too much strain on the fixings.

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Phil Ambrose Veteran II

Phil Ambrose

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Polycarbonate was used many years before it found it's way onto conservatory roofs. Available in many thicknesses, 6mm being pretty much bullet proof by hand gun, that's why it us used for riot shields. I used a huge amount for secondary glazing a care home windows as the autistic residents were quite fond of breaking glass often with parts of their bodies even their faces. With polycarbonate they just bounced off with minimal injury  So it is eminently suitable for Windows 

Phil

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Iain_S Influencer

Iain_S

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4 hours ago, Phil Ambrose said:

Polycarbonate was used many years before it found it's way onto conservatory roofs. Available in many thicknesses, 6mm being pretty much bullet proof by hand gun, that's why it us used for riot shields. I used a huge amount for secondary glazing a care home windows as the autistic residents were quite fond of breaking glass often with parts of their bodies even their faces. With polycarbonate they just bounced off with minimal injury  So it is eminently suitable for Windows 

Phil

Also used as replacement glazing in many of or local schools. When it first started to be used, one "Gotcha" was the need for a larger overlap between frame and glazing, to account for the flexing. If the glass was merely replaced by polycarbonate, a good shove in the centre could spring it out.

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Phil Ambrose Veteran II

Phil Ambrose

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Very true about the flexing but it always made me chuckle when the residents launched rocks at the Windows only to just bounced off.

The polycarbonate windows made a huge difference to the residents because the could no longer smash their face into a pane of glass, that was a horrible sight to see if you happened to be on the other side. I still have mental images of this even 20 years on.

Phil 

Edited by Phil Ambrose
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