Selecting Window Material (Lexan vs. Plexi)

[chibahawk 10+ year member]

Hey first off, PRIVATEpastry this site is great!

freckleface.com

Anyways I'm going to be making a false floor/hatch to help make my amp hard to get for anyone other than me.. I'm going to have a window and have a 2 Cold Cathode tubes running on the edges of the window, and I plan on sandblasting a design into the window as well..

What should I go with - I want a strong piece that will not shatter under lets say a crowbar.. scratch-proof would be cool.. and the ability to effectively sandblast an image in (I've only seen it done on plexi, would lexan work the same?) and also which glass would the light tubes look best through?

I'm also very interested in what thickness to get because I'm not sure exactly how strong each piece is but I'm mainly looking for cheap glass. So the thinner the better for me..

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[Justshoe 10+ year member]

Unless you go real thick on plexi it will tend to break and shatter easy. Lexan is extremely strong. I used to race r/c cars and we used lexan bodys that were about .020" thick and you could throw em jump on em and they would break. If you went with some 1/4" to 1/2" lexan you would be best. try mcmaster they might have some.

 

[BCONNELLY 10+ year member]

Lexan x2, it's stronger

 

[chibahawk 10+ year member]

and cheaper =] okay i think im set.. whose got some good gallerys showcasing lexan but teamed up with cold cathode lighting and grafx! wouldnt mind checkin out other peoples work

 

[Justshoe 10+ year member]

Depending on which side you mount the glass to if u use plexi it may crack just from sub pressures. Plexi isnt very durable its brittle the only thing that really keeps it together is the plastic film coating on the outside.