UV Resistant Lexan?

[Mark A.]

Help, I need UV Resistant Lexan. My canvas guy can't find it and the wife is getting cranky that our dodger is not done yet.

Anyone have a source? Many thanks for help.

Mark A.

[sded]

What are you really looking for? Tinted Lexan is readily available from plastics suppliers (I use smoke gray for dorade covers). Lexan has reasonable UV deterioration resistance, but for the long term you need a cover for times you are not using the boat. If you want sunscreening, look for Lexan XL.

[SeaMuffin]

I found a bunch of scratch-treated UV-resistant Lexan on eBay, under Building Materials.

[Mark A.]

What are you really looking for? Tinted Lexan is readily available from plastics suppliers (I use smoke gray for dorade covers). Lexan has reasonable UV deterioration resistance, but for the long term you need a cover for times you are not using the boat. If you want sunscreening, look for Lexan XL.

Acctually looking for clear, no tint, 1/16th to 1/32 inch thick to be used for windows in my dodger.

Mark A.

[sded]

Surprised your canvas guy can't find it-it is available from any plastics supplier. Does he know how to do lexan dodger windows? Try the yellow pages for one in your area, or Google. I don't have a source near you; I am in California. I got windows premade with scratch resistant lexan from Barrett Bonded Windows at www.barrettenclosures.com, since incorporating lexan into dodger windows is not as simple as eisenglass (no simple punch and sew; the material is much too hard).
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/sded/dodpan.jpg

[Tim]

Acctually looking for clear, no tint, 1/16th to 1/32 inch thick to be used for windows in my dodger.

Mark A.

Mark, I put acrylic windows in vers. 1 of my hard dodger experiment.

Because we mostly used the dodger for shade over the companionway, I wanted opening windws and wasn't interested in developing or buying a mechanism to open acrylic / lexan windows.

So, by vers. 3, my windows now are Eisenglass encased in canvas that snap onto the frame. Actually, they're not Eisenglass, they're the "cheap" stuff from Sailrite, I can't remember what they call it. But, I've found it doesn't yellow as easily as Eisenglass does, is more flexible, softer and thinner.

I haven't made the side curtains yet, it got too close to sailing season. They'll be added in the fall and will be similar, providing side coverage for the fall and spring winds and spray. Right now, even the front windows are off, rolled up and stowed.
http://www.writebyte.net/Images/Woodworking/DodgerRebuild/DodgerRebuild074.jpg

[Mark A.]

Sded,

Yes, he has used lexan before. Below is a freinds boat that he made a dodger for using Lexan.

He is pretty new in the business and does not have his supply lines hammered out yet. His current supplier says Sheffied (a Bayer company) is comming out with a new product that is suppose to have superior attributes in the UV protection area but the rollout has been delayed so just looking for alternatives.

http://shipshapecanvas.com/dodgers.php

[Fred]

You can go to the new, new threaded (just like the old CWBB) Crusing Sailors BB at

http://www.cs-bb.com/forums/CSBB/index.cgi/#12001

IT'S WHERE IT'S AT!

[Mark A.]

looks like the do not make the UV / scratch resistant lexan in anything under 80 guage or 1/8 th inch which is to thick to be sewn.

Barnett Enclosures is using a proprietarybonding technique which seems nice but I get the idea it is fairly expensive. (wish I knew how they did it)

I still have a few feelers out so we will see if something pops up in the next few days.

Thanks for the imput.

Mark A. 8)

[sded]

My windows are Hyzod AR, apparently available in sizes as thin as .063 inches from places like http://acetal-rod-sheet.com/hyzod-polycarbonate-sheet.htm . The invoice from 5 years ago says .080 thickness; may be a typo? But the material is still too hard to just sew, regardless of the thickness-the thinner stuff just flexes more to allow curved windows. Maybe it can be drilled or heat punched, then sewed; the Barrett Bonded Windows are indeed expensive. Try Google to find the material near you.
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/sded/dodpan.jpg

[Rick Beddoe]

We used to own a small sign shop where we used both Lexan (GE's trade name for polycarbonate) and acrylic (or Perspec for our ozzie friends :wink: ) for sign materials.

Both have terrible UV resistance, especially with clear material. We avoided clear lexan at all costs. White lexan wasn't any better. You can easily see how poor lexan (or acrylic) is by looking at any lighted sign that has a lot of white space (it will be off white or yellow). This is especially apparent when someone tries to save money by using the old sign face and removing the graphic. The graphic will leave a nice white silhouette. This is obvious after a year of exposure.

For dodgers or other applications, the only options are to tint or coat after construction. Lexan is probably a less desirable material as it is highly succeptable to scratches (acrylic is better in that regard).

For signs, the only reason we used Lexan was that it is shatterproof (bullet proof 'glass' is actually very thick Lexan) and was required by code...don't want sign faces popping out in a high wind and shattering. For a dodger application, this 'shatterproofness' is not necessary. Acrylic may be cheaper but its best feature is its scratch resistance vs. Lexan.

Look for a UV coating to be applied after fabrication.

However, since the 'fading' happens over time, it may not be all that noticeable. We noticed it because we saw it every day. It's not so apparent as to reduce visibility.