Acrylic plastic is an incredibly lightweight, durable, and versatile material that comes in many different configurations and colour options. Serving as a great alternative for glass, usage of acrylic plastic sheets can be seen across a variety of indoor and outdoor residential, commercial, and industrial applications. It also comes in a wide range of transparent and opaque colour options and designs to match the aesthetic of your structure.
What Are the Different Types of Acrylic Plastic Sheets?
Acrylic plastic sheets come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours. They can be customized to meet the requirements of virtually any project. Visual component options include clear, opaque, and mirrored. All of these options are available in a large assortment of standard or customized colours and tints. Acrylic sheet suppliers offer two main types of the material:
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Cast
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Extruded
Cast acrylic is formed by combining liquid polymers and synthetic materials and pouring them into a glass mould. As the name suggests, cast acrylic results in a more durable and consistent shell-like product. It’s also more scratch, chemical, flexible, and abrasion resistant and lightweight than extruded acrylic. But these qualities along with the production process also make it a lot more labour intensive and expensive to make.
Extruded acrylic is made by continuously heating acrylic monomers and then passing them through barrels, causing a chemical reaction. This process typically results in uneven or dissimilar looking extruded acrylic sheets.
What Are the Different Acrylic Plastic Uses?
Acrylic plastic is made of a polymer, which is designed to withstand exposure to all kinds of harsh environmental elements. This makes it the perfect material for indoor and outdoor applications, such as:
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Protecting furniture.
Back in the day, acrylic plastic sheets were often used to protect high-end furniture from dirt and stains. It may have been a bit of an eyesore and uncomfortable to sit on—especially if you were wearing shorts—but it was definitely effective at protecting furniture, especially fancy sofas and nice chairs, from getting dirty!
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Coloured backsplashes.
Traditionally, tiles were used as kitchen and bathroom backsplashes, but they take a lot of work to install. Acrylic backsplashes can easily be installed in half the time and there’s no grouting required.
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To replace glass in various projects.
Acrylic sheets are 250 times more durable than glass and about 50% more lightweight. As a result, they can replace glass in almost any application including backyard doors, windows, and even skylights.
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Wall shelves.
Acrylic is far more cost-effective and easier to transport, install, and maintain compared to glass. That’s why it’s quickly replacing glass as a transparent option for wall-mounted shelving units.
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Picture frames.
Due to its lightweight and durable nature, acrylic is also a lot easier to transport and manipulate or customize than glass and it also doesn’t break as easily. For that reason, acrylic is quickly becoming the preferable material of choice to replace glass covers in picture frames.
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Mirrored furniture.
Mirrored furniture is quickly making a comeback. But that doesn’t mean you have to pay high prices to get it. Acrylic plastic sheets are being used as a reflective, smooth, and shiny alternative to glass, which means you can get mirrored furniture at a much more affordable price now than in the past.
Acrylic Plastic Sheet Suppliers in Toronto
Canada Plastics & Belting Inc. is one of the leading suppliers of a variety of acrylic plastic sheets that have a multitude of variations, customization options, and uses. If you have a specific use or project in mind, simply let us know and we can recommend the right acrylic material configuration and colour combination based on your specifications. Contact us to learn about our expansive product line or feel free to visit our showroom in Scarborough!