Best/easiest to D-I-Y glass replacement plastic?

I had to make some housings for TV sets (etc) for use in a place where the viewers might suddenly decide to smash the place up (the tellys were to display a video entitled "Welcome to HMP Xxxxxx. We hope you enjoy your stay".) I used 6mm macrolon clear sheet on steel frames. It worked fine. Never got smashed. I used the offcuts for windows in a shed and that was OK as well.

Bill

Polycarbonate. Virtually unbreakable.

How easy is it to cut etc.?

Polycarbonate

Not bad I think. Never tried. Its a thermoplastic so will melt if you go at it hard

Its not 100% UV proof, but its not bad

To replace smashed windows on our boat, I cut up an old plastic hinged cover from an acoustic metal box that had held a teleprinter.

I think it was polycarbonate. It was slightly darkened, but not enough to matter, and I had no trouble cutting it to an extended oval shape, drilling and countersinking etc. It has lasted for many, many years.

Our windows were slightly larger than the window holes in the wood and bolted through using sex bolts (still a great name to type).

I wasn't meaning UV proof, more not deteriorating in UV.

It seems to be a majority then! :-)

Polycarbonate is very tough and moderately easy to cut especially if clamped between two pieces of wood before cutting (If thin it vibrates a lot when being cut and the edge gets ragged).

It is also quite soft and the surface becomes marked very quickly. You can get it with a hard anti scratch layer bonded to it during manufacture but that is a lot more expensive.

Hacksaw blade in a jigsaw at medium speed does it nicely IME.

WEll it does yellow eventually. But its better than many others

Thanks for the feedback, I think your windows must be smaller than ours, I think our biggest are getting on for a sqare metre.

I don't *think* scratching is going to be a big issue for us.

I have a *cab-glaze* business renting one of my barns for storage. I think they buy the stuff in 1mx2m sheets.

Yes, I think our windows are about 18" x 9", but I still like the concept!

The Makrolon brand of polycarbonate that Bill mentions has UV protection on both sides. Many other brands also have this protection but some don't so it's worth checking what you are buying. Non-glazing types without UV protection will discolour quite quickly. My guess is that whether inland or at sea, the windows are going to take a lot of punishment from the elements and they won't endure as long as glass. But I think they'll give you better protection overall.

Nick

It is usually an issue in that even wiping the windows with a cloth with a bit of grit on it will scratch polycarbonate. Only cleaning the windows with a brush and water helps but inside that isn't practical. Best to assume you will need to replace every few years and design fittings accordingly. It's also worth making sure the edge fixing is very secure if you are ever going out in rough weather. Polycarbonate is flexible and if it isn't fixed with lots of bolts around the window while a heavy sea won't break it it can easily knock it out of its mounting. Sea going boats with polycarbonate windows often have wooden shutters which can be secured over the windows to protect them in rough seas (and to minimise the effects of sunlight when the boat is not in use.).

Also bear in mind Polycarbonate has poor resilience to many chemicals. It has particularly poor resistance to acetone and xylene, found in paint strippers and fibreglass cleaners, both cause stress cracking.

(All this said - there isn't a better solution other than laminated glass).

_BwE

Fine tooth handsaw. The stuff can be bent double and won't break. Drawback is it's expensive.

The clear acrylic sheet is brittle.

The place* where I buy my bits and pieces of plastic stocks 3m x 2m polycarbonate sheets. Seeing one carried out was a good demonstration of just how clear they are when new. And how wibbly wobbly.

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