heat and sun protection for acrylic glass

[YARGESOL]

I relaced all windows on my cat (original were sun cracked and some really cracked,leacking). Applied Armolan film Safety 4 Mil Black 05 to interior parts of the windows. It looks great,at the beginning. But, next sunny day I may see,that the film delaminates from the windows...following to the sun. So, it's either not compatible with acrylic ( I have Plexiglas 8mm),or with the sun heat.
Anybody has expereiance with sun and heat resistance solution for acrylic glass ?

[tomfl]

following

[Dwayne Lister]

Taken from a reputable vendor of such products:

Standard window films should not be applied to acrylic or polycarbonate (plexiglass) windows. These are plastic sheeting products and they all have the potential to outgas. Heat and visible light from the sun causes “outgassing�. Outgassing is the release of chemical components and/or moisture absorbed by the plastic. The outgassing interferes with the window film’s adhesive system, and results in bubbling between the plastic window and the window film.
It should also be noted that many window film adhesive systems, when applied to plastics, will create a permanent bond. In the event that the film should have to be removed, it will be almost impossible to remove the film completely without damaging surface of the plexiglass window.

Regards

Dwayne

[Dwayne Lister]

I also noted that 3M produce some films which are compatible with 'some' acrylic glazing:

3M’s Silver 15 Plastic is suitable for some polycarbonate (PC) and
acrylic (PMMA) glazing used in buildings. The film is designed for
use on the external surface. It’s metalised technology reflects the
sun’s rays while allowing optical clarity to be maintained and rejects
excess light to reduce glare. Also, depending on lighting conditions,
rooms are protected against prying eyes from looking in.

I believe there are several others but glass tinting products should not be used.

I'm planning to replace my clear windows with smoke tinted versions.

Dwayne

[YARGESOL]

Well,I goofed with the film...will study 3M as advised

[JPA Cate]

Yargesol,

I made a hatch cover for one of our acrylic hatches, from a product called "Breezeway." It is a pvc scrim with small, square holes in it, and comes in a number of sizes. It is a form of "shadecloth". People use that here, to shade and protect acrylic panels. The black is see through, but still offers protection from the UF. Most of these are snap-on covers, so that they can easily be removed for cleaning or sailing. They stow flat, under berths, or you can roll them up, they're flexible.

Ann

[UNCIVILIZED]

What Ann said. And you can also make covers from various other types of cloth as well, depending on how much light & heat you want to block out.

The other thing is, the choices you make in terms of your glazings coloring makes a HUGE impact on how much heat, & or, light is or isn't allowed into the cabin. Some of the boats I've worked & raced on have been proverbial iceboxes on days when most others were ovens, yet they had great natural lighting down below. And when I first noticed it, a Kiwi friend of mine clued me in as to why. Quite amazing really.

There are also coatings which the factory can apply to have the same effect, on a fairly broad range of colors. Kind of like is done with sunglasses.

[Captsteve53]

First you need to be you have used the correct base material which is available tinted, A number of clear or transparent tinted materials are available.

1) PVC - light, not transparent enough and not UV stable.
2) PETG - light, scratches easily and not UV stable.
3) UV-PETG - light, scratches easily.
4) Standard poly-carbonate - light, scratches easily and not UV stable
5) Acrylic - the best acrylic is UV stabilized cast acrylic which is light, has very good optical characteristics, is resistant to chemical corrosion, hazing, marring, abrasion and scratching.
6) Poly-carbonate - light very hard, high optical grade, providing enhanced resistance to hazing, marring, abrasion and scratching of the surface. Very good, very expensive, about 4 to 6 times the price of acrylic.
7) Glass, is too heavy and breakable!

MY choice - I generally use top quality acrylics, occasionally poly-carbonate. Beware of cheaper acrylics that do not have UV stabilizers in them and some cheaper acrylics that suffer from thickness variations and surface imperfections.

Cheers Steve

[YARGESOL]

Capsteve 53:
- I've chozen Evonic cast 8mm Plexiglas GS not colored.Yes,there are tinted products,but thickness 3mm. I was looking initially to use avia-grade,but ,it's very expensive and is hard to find.So,it's coorect base for windows,thought not correct for windoow films;
Ann:
- I've checked Breezeway - seems like they make screens for the trucks? Don't knoow how it will looks on the yacht. I have some material black screens,which I tried to dismiss (they are on the pictures of my cat). Some fixing were broken,material worn,flagging with the wind. I would prefer to make solid exterior blinds wooden/aluminum - have seen on the pictures of some cats.
But,the modern cats are comming with just open tinted/black windows. I wonder,if sun shade is still needed,or just 55K btu AC ?
Dwayne Lister:
- 3M Silver 15 is very interesting. Thought,from the product sheet I can't see, that it maybe bonded to acrylic sheet. And, it's require edge sealing,so,I may need to dismatle new frames,but this is OK,than laminate,seal and put the frames back. Thanks

[StuM]

Originally Posted by YARGESOL

Capsteve 53:

Ann:
- I've checked Breezeway - seems like they make screens for the trucks? Don't knoow how it will looks on the yacht. I have some material black screens,which I tried to dismiss (they are on the pictures of my cat). Some fixing were broken,material worn,flagging with the wind. I would prefer to make solid exterior blinds wooden/aluminum - have seen on the pictures of some cats.
But,the modern cats are comming with just open tinted/black windows. I wonder,if sun shade is still needed,or just 55K btu AC ?

I can see out of my saloon with no problems with the shades on.

They attach with press studs and zips on the two centre panels over the front hatches.

[YARGESOL]

StuM:
So,even modern cats,like yours FP still needs shade... I have similar screens in black.
3M makes a lot of interesting films. If,it could be bonded to acrylic,a combination of Silver 15 Exteriro and Night Vision Interior may do the job
Vladimir

[Scaramanga F25]

Phyfertex,TM is used on trawlers for shading windows.

[jimtaylorofkw]

1. Item One - We starting coating some glass hatches in July 2017 with exterior grade
reflective film, easy to install, we can see out but nobody can see in,
reflects heat, harmful sun rays, has a mirror finish and makes the boat much
cooler. Wish we would have done this years ago in Grenada. 60" x 2' cost
$48 including postage.
Supplier: www.decorativefilm.com, SOLYX. So far love it. Did all the hatches. Look fantastic!

2. Item Two - we coated our plexiglass sliding roof on our Nauticat pilot house 38 with exterior grade film made for plexiglass which gives a mirror finish, reflects the sun, heat, rays, etc., and we can see out, nobody can see in.
Supplier: Windowtint.com silver plexi 20

Hope this helps, photos available.
Captain
Sarah II, Nauticat 38
Longare, Italy
homeportkwtaylor@yahoo.com

[Meacenas]

I have been a sign maker for 30 years and use both plexi and lexan ( brand names ). These days most sign letters are made with vinyl instead of paint. In simplistic terms I have had a big problem of delamination of vinyl from both lexan and plexi due to outgassing. Putting vinyl film on lexan especially is a problem. When the plastic would arrive from the supplier, it always has a plastic film on it. After removing the plastic, I tried may different methods to minimize the problem, washing the lexan with soap and water, window washing fluid, ( windex), alcohol, paint thinner, but I would still get a million tiny bubbles in the vinyl application film. The method that worked the best? Taking the plastic film off and putting the sheet of lexan outside in the strong sun for a week before using it. Then I would bring it into the shop, wash it with (windex) to remove any dirt film, wash it again with alcohol to remove any oils, let it dry over night. That really seemed to minimize the outgassing problem. I guess you could say its a method of destressing, ( cooking the gas out ?) the lexan before using it. There was always some leftover pieces of each in the shop and I noticed that after sitting ( for weeks) in the shop they seemed to be much more usable.

[Ivansgarage]

One of the best cleaners for plexiglass bean using on my plane windows for 15 years.

Plexus

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...=1O0VMCRFH6DZK