UV blocking acrylic?

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Does anybody know if Proofgrade clear acrylic is UV blocking (for use protecting a picture), and if not, where one can get UV blocking acrylic?

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I truly doubt it, and I know TAP Plastics sells it (or did ~5 years ago!)

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I found this…
Polycarbonate as a material blocks almost the entire relevant UV spectrum, meaning both UVA and UVB. The material absorbs UV radiation and does not allow it to be transmitted through.

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I did some testing at the beginning of the Pandemic found that clear PG acrylic does not block UV wavelengths.

As @PrintToLaser mentioned, polycarbonate does, but is not a great laser material as it tends to melt &/or catch fire.

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You’re looking for museum acrylic. One brand is Optium. If you can’t find small quantities directly a framing shop would be able to source it for you.

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I just ordered some non-glare, UV-protecting acrylic from JPPlus for the same purpose.

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this is good to know…

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hmm… thanks for posting this, gives me some things to ponder.

out of curiosity - what has anyone here used this for? i have a couple of ideas of things that it might be helpful, but not sure that i would actually really need to do that for anything. i am guessing there are things I’m not thinking of! :slight_smile:

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i wanted to use it in a multi pane frame for a cartoon.

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I used to put a roof on our back porch - we had one of those useless open air slatted ones so we got a 4x8 sheet of it and slid it on top so we can sit out there without getting burned!

Obvi not a :glowforge: project!

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That is really cool. I have a history of skin cancer. Luckily it was “only” basal cell, but I got it very young at age 31, which is unusual. But I had so many sunburns as a kid (I was that redheaded freckled little girl with braids that was called all the classic nicknames lol). So ever since then, I stay out of the sun and wear sunblock on my face daily. Being able to go sit on a porch outside like that would be awesome. (But all of our windows would have to be UV blocking hahahaha, so I guess that wouldn’t solve anything for me LOL)

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I made a lino-style print and, want to make a frame for it.

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Ditto. Red headed, freckled, and grew up in the Middle East. When I got my first at 30, like my mother before me, they said the best way to avoid it is to not get a sunburn before you’re 18 - and as that ship had sailed I use biopsy/surgery photos to scare my niblings into wearing sunscreen :slight_smile:

Totally off topic, but if you’re not taking niacinamide, you should talk to your dermatologist about it. Shockingly effective at decreasing basal & squamous cells in studies. Anecdotally I’ve gone from 2-3/year to 1 in the last 3 years.

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oh wow!
As for me, i haven’t had any more but I’ve been very cautious. I need to get checked, though.

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