Polycarbonate vs. acrylic wind blockers ?

GEEMCB · Post by **GEEMCB** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 7:42 pm

Hi, all

Dropped in at a plastic supplier / fabricator the other day to talk about a
customised wind blocker to fit around my style bar.

He strongly advised fitting polycarbonate in the interests of safety &
demonstrated with a hammer the relative impact performance. Polycarbonate
just bounced the hammer back, while shattered acrylic (perspex) edges are
sharp !

Only issue is price - polycarbonate material cost is about 3 times that of
acrylic.

Anyone considered this dilemma ? The outcome ?

Regards,
Greg
1990 V Special

Mike Jolley · Post by **Mike Jolley** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 8:04 pm

bought ours from mx5 mart hamilton,from ross.
just fit and enjoy...mike

EricW · Post by **EricW** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:12 am

Hi Greg,

Two issues really, Polycarbonate is far, far tougher and less likely to
break into sharp shards, it also does not break down in sunlight to anything
like the same extent as perspex, which can yellow and become brittle and
simply break anyway.

Polycarbonate might be three times the price, but a piece that size is
probably not that many more dollars. You want to go to someone who sells cut
sheets, they almost always have pieces that are too small to be sold, but
are big enough for you. I made two hatches for my yacht a few years back and
I think I was able to buy off cuts which did the job at about 50% of retail

Eric

Ian Chapman · Post by **Ian Chapman** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 8:31 am

Greg

I made ours out of polycarbonate about five years ago - around $30-40
cut to size (long rectangle with rounded corners as we don't have any
style bar) if I recall the $ correctly. From Cactus Plastics in Petone

Only issue we have had is at a WOF I was told it doesn't comply as if
it is clear it needs to be safety glass. I asked if I made it out of
plywood then would it comply - "yes because it's not clear!" He
suggested that if he doesn't know it exists then he can't fail it, so
now I just remove before a WOF - easily done as it uses the domes for
the soft top boot and straps around the seat belt tower brace.

Hope this helps.

Ian

Ian Chapman

DBM58 · Post by **DBM58** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 8:45 am

One of the products that is used in the machines that I manufacture is polycarbonate - chosen because it does not fracture as acrylic does. I buy it from Aarkim Plastics in Glenfield Auckland. Their telephone number is 09 444 1124. If you talk to Mark, he will be happy to provide assistance if he is able, They are a very good company to deal with.

I bought a blocker made of perspex a couple of years ago. It I made from perspex beccause of the increased resistance to scratching over polycarbonae. It is also tinted which in my opinion looks better than plain clear. However, I have noticed that when viewed from different angles, internal crazing is very evident.

I am in Auckland and you are very welcome to have a look at it / try it out.

Regards

David Moughtin

Post by **zorruno** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 9:35 am

on 11/04/2005 7:42 p.m. Greg wrote:

He strongly advised fitting polycarbonate in the interests of safety &
demonstrated with a hammer the relative impact performance.

I wonder how many pieces of perspex he goes through per day to demo that
to people?! (maybe suggest a video might be more cost effective?!)

Out of interest, how much was he going to charge for the whole whing?

cheers
H

GEEMCB · Post by **GEEMCB** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 9:56 pm

Hi, all

Many thanks for the responses & the information shared - I mistakenly
thought that going to polycarbonate may have been a bit OTT (pun sort-of
intended ...). However it appears that others have trod the same path.

Thanks for the supplier contact details - will pursue when time permits - &
it gets colder. Interesting point about WOF issues; seems that easy removal
may need to be a priority.

zorruno asked about price - the guy I spoke to indicated about $170+GST for
material (polycarbonate) & cutting to shape to my template. The more
accurate the template the cheaper (time = money). However the lion's share
of the cost was material. Which led to a big gulp & my subsequent query !
BTW he only used a little little off-cut of perspex to do the demo ...

Regards,
Greg

PS - speaking of WOFs - I'll be able to report back on Thursday evening if
my very retro-cool slide-mount mirror gets through.

Michael & Kate Cooper · Post by **Michael & Kate Cooper** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:24 am

Hi there.

In 1999 I bought a piece of 3mm thick polycarbonate, cut to 1.4m square in
area (a rectangle with the short sides cut at an angle) for $130 + GST. It
was used as a stone guard for a trailer for 3 years with daily use and it
lasted well. I can't recall getting any scratches on it, and certainly no
chips.

If you are planning on drilling holes in your piece of plastic to help with
attachment to your car, I believe that polycarbonate will be easier to
drill. From our experience acrylic cracks very easily and is best drilled
with a reverse-angle drill bit.

Personally I'd go for the polycarbonate as it is more durable - it would be
annoying if you went to all the trouble to make something up, only to have
someone lean on it and snap it in two later on.

Ciao

Kate

Who is online