The Framers Forum

I have a client who is asking to use a 'plastic' glass for some exhibition frames ... expo sort of thing... so they won't break when transported between events.

Size of 'glass' would be 812 x 812 and 965 x 711

What thickness would you recommend ? I see Wessex do 3mm Styrene and 3mm Acrylic. There is a big difference in price between the 2.

Would 3mm be OK?

Thanks in advance and Happy New Year!

Ive just used 3mm UV acrylic from Wessex for a job 1200x1200mm That was OK but I had to construct a frame with a very deep lip (25mm) to clamp the sheet tight enough to reduce the chance of any flex. It worked out OK but I wasn't really sure until I put everything together. It could have been an expensive mistake 2mm would have been way to flexy.

3 mm should be adequate.

Acrylic (Perspex, Lucite, Acrulite, etc) will not become brittle and yellow with age as does styrene.

Thanks for the feedback

The only problem with acrylic and styrene is they scratch very easily even cleaning them can leave marks so sometimes they are not that practical when they are going to be moved around a lot and cleaned or in high traffic areas. Having said that I have a large number of frames in a bar which i did 8 yrs ago, glazed in styrene and they are as fresh as the day they were installed, it depends on how well they are looked after I suppose.