Hi Ken,

Basically, you've got two types of clear plastic to work with - Acrylic and
Polycarbonate (Lexan). Both have there plusses and minuses. From my days
owning a sign shop, we used these types of materials quite regularly.
Acrylic is more abrasive resistant than Polycarbonate, but Polycarbonate is
tougher (it's used for bulletproof glass). Both have very poor UV resistance
unless tinted. Both will become brittle over time and need to be replaced.
That's not a maybe. It's just a question of which comes first - the
yellowing fogginess or the cracks from temp changes.

Some folks use the term 'Eisenglass'. This refers to a brand name
'Strataglass' which is simply acrylic. The term Eisenglass, I believe, came
from the way they made lampshades hundreds of years ago. They cut very thin
slices of mica to make the shade.

The best thing you can do the increase the life of the clear part is to
fabricate a snap on cover to go over the clear when not in use.

After sending this original message, I'm thoroughly convinced it is
unnecessary to fork out a couple grand for these items. I'm just not sure
what kind of sewing machine is needed to sew sunbrella.

Cheers,

Rick Beddoe
s/v Soņadora, 1978 Baba 30
http://sail2live.com

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Received on Sun May 7 21:30:13 2006