We have been picture framing for close to half a century and we have come across much disinformation and many fallacies where custom picture 
framing is concerned. Perhaps the most persistent fallacy is the widespread and popular misconception that glazing ( the covering of framed artwork with a transparent or see-though material ) with 'Plastic Glass', 'Perspex' , 'Plexiglass', a clear plastic, or an acrylic pane is a cheaper more convenient and better alternative than glazing with clear float glass. Alas, and in our lengthy and not inconsiderable experience nothing could be further from the truth! Acrylic manufacturers, wholesaler, importers and retailers all wax lyrical profusely about the superior properties and qualities of these plastic materials, but never seem to point out their disadvantages particularly as to when these are installed, fitted, or assembled with, or inside, photo frames, poster frames and picture frames. Mayhaps it's in the nature of sellers to oversell, overstate or embellish their wares' qualities and features but they never seem to state the disadvantages, of which we have noticed, several.
Perhaps the first and most important disadvantage is the cost. By far the greatest majority of Customers, when they inquire about wanting something framed with plastic perspex or plexiglass glazing, need only one, single pane cut.
Pricing a Cut-To-Size Plastic Pane
That in itself makes it an expensive request. Plastic fabricators will quote their most expensive price when cutting a single piece only. A recent workshop price quotation is an example. A Customer visited us, wanting a white, A0 ready-made frame for her A0 print she'd recently ordered.
Our, very popular, A0 white ready-made frames are excellent value at $117.60 each. However these are glazed with clear glass, not plastic, and the Customer wanted plastic. So, even though we had an idea as to what would happen, we shopped around asking for price quotations for an A0-size pane of perspex.
The cheapest price we could get for a 3 mm thickness perspex pane cut-to-size and delivered to us , was $147.40, as shown below:
It is worth noting that the $147.40 quoted was the cost to us, not to our Customer. So we needed to add our mark-up. At a, say, conservative 50%, the cost ratched up to $221.10 which was what we quoted to the Customer.
Unsurprisingly, the Customer queried how a simple plastic pane could cost nearly double of what the price of the frame was. The Customer eventually declined the perspex re-glazing option and retained the A0 ready frame with its original clear glass pane supplied at the original price of $117.60.
The Customer's query highlighted the problem that local retailers or picture framers have with wanting to change the glazing of imported, ready-made frames, mostly from China, from their factory-made plastic pane with locally supplied and cut plastic.
Simply put, Australian-made or Australian-supplied, local plastic perspex is just too expensive and cannot be competitively priced. One plastic fabricator we contacted adds a $49 + GST cutting charge just to set up his panel saw to cut a single piece.
Discussing why Australian manufacturers aren't internationally price competitive would be a bit like opening up a can of worms, suffice to say that one of our past posts, Made in Australia? Are you kidding ? ought to provide readers with some interesting insights into this systemic, Australian manufacturing dysfunction.
That being said, we can sum this point up by stating that, no, Customers can't have imported ready-made frames changed over from glass to plastic because, far from this being cheaper, it's actually a lot more expensive, and that's that.Issues With, And Disadvantages Of, Plastic Panes
A second disadvantage is that the perspex or plastic glazing material isn't as clear, stable and durable as the clear picture frame float glass commonly used in by picture framers in picture framing.
We have re-framed many framed works which were originally plastic or perspex glazed and in most, if not all, we observed that the material decreased in sharpness, refraction and clarity, becoming duller, diffused, discoloured as it aged, and in addition, visibly yellowing, as exemplified below:
A third disadvantage is that the material, as it gets old, often deforms going from being straight flat and even, to being noticeably convex, and occasionally, concave. A stylized version of a flat, concave and convex surface is shown in the diagramme below:
A fourth disadvantage is that, the material , unlike the denser, harder, glass counterpart is prone to scuffs and scratches. Most people are reasonable housekeepers and tend dust, or at least, pass a feather duster over their furniture, photo frames and picture frames every once in a while. This is what tends to scuff and scratch plastics.
A fifth disadvantage revolves to the first point alluded to herein. Simply put, it's this: anything made of or made with plastic sounds cheap and if it sounds cheap Customers expect it and want it cheap. We have detailed above why plastic glazing , if anything , is more expensive, however the common perception is to the contrary, so we don't think that this glazing or re-glazing service will ever be profitable for picture framers.
A last sixth disadvantage concerns glass recycling. A few of our regular Customers are furniture movers, home renovators and house decorators. These folks regularly hang, affix, remove, carry, store, shift, move, transport large framed glass posters up to 1.8 x 1.2 metres in size. Naturally enough, because the artwork is so large, these get regularly broken or damaged. We know this because the Customers come to us every few weeks to get the frames re-glazed, re-strung and repaired.
Impractical to Recycle Old Plastic Panes
When we reglaze these big frames we ask Customers what do they want us to do with the old glass and/or frames. Invariably they tell us that they don't need it and ask us dispose of it. But we don't always throw the old glass out.
In many cases, as with the salvageable, big panes of clear glass, we recycle it because it's still relatively new and clean. With some of the larger frames, around $150 worth of clear float glass can be recovered and salvaged.
All that being said, yes, plastic or perspex glazing has obvious advantages over clear glass and most people know of and are aware of what those are. However, like all materials, it also has and carries some hidden, discrete disadvantages which are familiar to us because, and unlike most Customers, we routinely inspect, handle and change the material.
Customers ought to review all the pros and cons and decide for themselves as to which glazing material might best suit their needs.
What To Do and Not To do with Plastic Panes
| List of Do's | List of Don'ts | ||
| ✓ | Do shop around for prices if determined to glaze or re-glaze your art with a plastic or perspex pane. | ❌ | Don't assume that the aesthetics of plastic glass will be the same, or superior to, clear float glass. In our experience the plastic is always a little inferior in appearance. |
| ✓ | Do be aware that plastic is quite susceptible to scratches, dust, static and may warp convex or concave with time. | ❌ | Don't hope that plastic it will cheaper than glass. We know that it'll be at least 3 to 5 time dearer. |
| ✓ | Do remember that chalk and pastel art should not be framed with plastic as its static may attract, move or dislodge any friable and loose pigments. | ❌ | Don't clean the plastic with window cleaners such as Windex which may contain harmful ammonia. Instead use lukewarm water, with a few drops of mild dish soap and a no-lint, microfibre cloth. |
| ✓ | Do check the plastic pane for scuffs, marks or scratches when it's delivered to you. These an often and easily may occur during transit. | ❌ | Don't think that plastic will much more lighter than glass. 3mm perspex is as heavy as 1 mm clear float picture framing glass. |
