Polycarbonate vs flexiglass windows#

Polycarbonate vs flexiglass windows#

If that is the case eg the forward facing windows on an ocean going boat then I suppose the issues of polycarbonate scratching etc becomes minor compared to the unbreakability of the poycarbonate material.Ĭrazing is predominantly caused by UV, hatches due to their position typically see much more than port lights.Ģnd cause is cleaning chemicals. I suppose the key issue is whether the location of the window is safety critical and whether the boat is at risk if a window fails.

I find cobolts comments interesting as I was sucked into the belief that polycarbonate was far superior to acrylic but I now regret choosing polycarbonate overĪcrylic for my screen and certainly in the future if I replace any windows it will be with acrylic.

It is quite flexible as it will bend a little if pressed however the original 6mm perspex was quite rigid and perfectly adequate for the job for 39 years! This may be because I used 6mm rather than 8 or 10 mm. On the other hand the front window in polycarbonate is already (after only 4 months ) showing signs of scratching, and I have been very careful with it, it is not quite and clear as the acrylic and being a largish piece there is a small amount of light reflection when viewed from an acute angle. I am really pleased with the acrylic side windows-totally clear and no scratches or marks. The two side windows were acrylic about 4ft x2ft in 6mm and the front about 5ft x 33' in 6mm polycarbonate. I recently replaced my doghouse/wheelhouse windows using both acrylic and polycarbonate.