hatch lens material source

[sailfree20770]

Has anyone found the correct plastic material for hatch lenses, and where to buy the bulk stock? I think I can cut a piece of plastic and glue it to the frame with Dow 795, or other suitable adhesive.

My '98 Hunter 376 has several Lewmar hatches that are crazed. I got a price on replacing the lenses, but it's nearing the cost of a new hatch, so seems unrealistic.

I think the main key to a solution is finding a good source of lens material. There are a lot of suppliers and different products out there, so I'm just wondering if anyone else has narrowed this down.

 

[Chief RA]

Just bought Lexan unbreakable plastic cut to size for my new companionway sliders at the local glass shop. $350 out the door for large units used on a Catalina 250.
Chief

 

[kloudie1]

For the hatches, an acrylic like Plexiglass was the original material and has a lot more UV resistance than Lexan, a polycarbonate. Polycarbonates can be purchased with a UV coating to increase its life but don't buy without that coat unless you like the job of replacing the lens. MaineSail posted some good info a month or so back about that..
I don't know what your thickness is for the lens.. you can go up in thickness easily by beveling the edge that might stick up above the frame. You should have no trouble finding a supplier in Bay City who can rough cut to your dimensions

 

[Chief RA]

Lexan does not break, Plexiglass does. I just replaced a 1/2" broken Plexiglass slider. Chief

 

[centerline]

lexan is a brand name and is expensive... polycarbonate is the material itself. you can find polycarbonate much cheaper in an off brand than yo ucan in the lexan name...

the same is true for the Plexiglass name, which is an acrylic material....

acrylic is much, much more scratch resistant than polycarbonate, but polycarbonate can be purchased with a scratch resistant coating on it, and should be, because you can scratch regular uncoated polycarbonate with a paper towel.....

polycarbonate is a much, much tougher product, but is not as uv stabile as acrylic, which is almost impervious to the suns rays, in comparison.

uv stabilizers are added to polycarbonate in the manufacturing process to cause it to be a good product for outdoor use for a reasonable amount of time.....

everything is a trade off, but i would highly recommend getting the material with the scratch resistant coating when purchasing polycarbonate....

the edges of both can be flame polished to look shiny, like the surface of the material, if you take care to sand the edges smooth first...

 

[kloudie1]

Lexan is used to make car headlamp assembles because it is so strong and doesn't easily crack. They are coated with a scratch resistant stuff to keep 'em from getting dull. When that coating wears off, the effect of the UV on the polycarbonate shows in the yellowish- whitish dullness that you see on older cars headlights.
Plexiglass (acrylic) is what Bomar and Lewmar use for standard hatch lenses because of its strength (not as strong as Lexan but strong enough for that application) and scratch resistance.

 

[sailfree20770]

Thanks for all the input,

Sounds like acrylic is the way to go, but will try to get it the next size thicker for large hatches. The original Lewmar material seems fine for smaller hatches, but questionable for the larger units.

Haven't had any luck finding it locally, but did find a distributor that will deliver large sheets, and the prices are fair.

 

[bananabender56]

Try Select Plastics in Connecticut - they will cut, chamfer and glue into the frame if you want

 

[crosswind]

Just a thought... Auto part stores sell cheap kits for polishing your headlamp covers.

I've used the kit a cpl times on my kids cars and made the covers look like new. So, I tried it in my Hunter30 hatch covers and port seals. Worked like a charm! Like brand new. Just follow the directions on the kit. Once you realize what they are selling you, buy the bulk polishing compounds and your good to go!