Hey All,
I recently purchased a 4' x 8' sheet of 3/8" cast acrylic from a local plastics supplier. I had asked for Acrylite GP by name, and the shop owner told me that while he didn't carry it, he had another brand that's "the same". In my enthusiasm to keep my reef build moving along I was quick to accept his assurance and forked over $270 for it.
Welp..... after getting home with it and doing a little Google searching, I've found a few threads here on R2R and elsewhere where it's being referred to as "cheap asian junk" that apparently won't weld weld easily and/or will produce weak seams that fail over time.
Does anyone have direct experience with Marga Cipta acrylic that can confirm/deny this anecdotal evidence. Better yet, can anyone tell me why/how exactly this product is inferior to other types of cast acrylic? Specifically, I'm wondering if the performance characteristics can fluctuate from year to year (or batch to batch?) making it worth at least a test weld. That said, I'm reluctant to cut into the sheet which will hurt any chance I've got of getting my money back I'm sure.
So am I wasting my time even trying to make this work, or is the answer "it depends", and if the latter how can I maximize any chance of success?
Here's a pic in case it helps:
I recently purchased a 4' x 8' sheet of 3/8" cast acrylic from a local plastics supplier. I had asked for Acrylite GP by name, and the shop owner told me that while he didn't carry it, he had another brand that's "the same". In my enthusiasm to keep my reef build moving along I was quick to accept his assurance and forked over $270 for it.
Welp..... after getting home with it and doing a little Google searching, I've found a few threads here on R2R and elsewhere where it's being referred to as "cheap asian junk" that apparently won't weld weld easily and/or will produce weak seams that fail over time.
Does anyone have direct experience with Marga Cipta acrylic that can confirm/deny this anecdotal evidence. Better yet, can anyone tell me why/how exactly this product is inferior to other types of cast acrylic? Specifically, I'm wondering if the performance characteristics can fluctuate from year to year (or batch to batch?) making it worth at least a test weld. That said, I'm reluctant to cut into the sheet which will hurt any chance I've got of getting my money back I'm sure.
So am I wasting my time even trying to make this work, or is the answer "it depends", and if the latter how can I maximize any chance of success?
Here's a pic in case it helps: