clear polycarbonate (lexan) for door glass

RV daytrader wrote:
Want to put clear lexan into door window so I can see out of it. Want lexan instead of glass as it is 200 times stronger than glass. Negative part is I read that lexan scratches easy. Anyone here know how easily it scratches??...they do make an abrasive resistant one but it costs over twice as much.

for that application shouldn't be an issue. yes it will scratch, but reasonable care and it will be fine.

we replaced the top and bottom screen in ours with lexan, that way we can have the outside door open and get light into the trailer, etc. and keep the grandkids from pushing out the screen anyway. Even with the grandkids against the lexan, it has minimal scratches after several years of camping with them. And they come along probaby 30+ days/year.

Unless you plan on beating on it, why make life difficult. It's not common for glass to break and yes, it scratches much easier than glass.

We have them on the boat and have found we must be really careful with them.

We had to replace some because they simply became crazed due to being in the sun.

I sure you've seen headlights that are frosted and white. Well they're made of polycarbonate. Be sure to keep it out of sun when you can.

gloriebkj wrote:
A warning---don't spray bug spray on yourself while standing in the doorway. Found out the hard way that it etches the Lexan any place it hits.

The site says...Polycarbonate Sheet AR offers abrasion and chemical resistance along with the same properties as regular Polycarbonate Sheet.

But I will be careful with any chemical sprays around it!

A warning---don't spray bug spray on yourself while standing in the doorway. Found out the hard way that it etches the Lexan any place it hits.

OK...decided to go with AR polycarbonate (abrasion resistant)...stronger and lighter than laminated glass...cut to 12.5x21.5 and delivered for $47.22

In the process of replacing a broken window in my RV, I found that I could get "laminated" windshield grade glass for less cost than lexan. I could also get it colored.

Lexan MR10 "Margard" is much more scratch resistant than standard Lexan. Other polycarb sheet makers also have scratch resistant products.

I worked with a lot of Lexan in my time and Lexan scratches by just looking at it. (well, not really, but almost) It will scratch with just a cloth. I had one race car where the driver/owner said no way he was put a Lexan windshield because of the scratching issues.

I would buy a tempered piece of glass instead. I think scratching will be a problem from using pieces of Lexan on things that I've built.

Bill