Lucite Lux vs Optium

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cvm

cvm

SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
Joined
Feb 19, 2008
Posts
11,651
Loc
Boulogne, FL
Lucite Lux Museum Grade
vs
Optium Museum Acrylic

If you have experience with Lucite Lux, please chime in with differences/pros/cons (besides AR properties).

Thanks.
 
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Lucite Lux is the best UV plex I've used as far as clarity, imperfections and rigidity. I've used Cyro and Tru Vue conservation clear. Niether are as good as Lucite. Lucite is continuous cast as opposed to extruded. It's also slightly cheaper than Cyro or Tru Vue. At least where I get it. I highly recommend it. The UV properties I believe are 99%, but you'd have to double check that. I think the Optium has the highest UV protection available. I have not yet seen any inclusions in Lucite but I have seen a few in the Optium. I certainly wouldn't use the Lucite in place of Optium for AR properties, as you know, but as far as UV plex goes, it's a winner. I've not done a side by side comparison of the tint, but they both have a slight visible tint.
 
Who do you buy it from? The other stuff is readily available, but I've not seen the Lucite listed by any of my suppliers.
 
I would have to purchase it through my local distributor and have it crated/shipped.
 
I actually just spoke to a Tru Vue rep and she said Con. Clear is also continuous cast. I'm not sure what the difference is but the Con. Clear is not as rigid as the Lucite, but is good as far as clarity and imperfections. But it does cost more than Lucite. And when I say more I mean only a few bucks really.
 
Side by side comparison will show you that Lucite is purple. This may not show up as much when using it for glazing as it does for fabrication. We really like the other properties of Lucite L and use it in clear, but not UV filtering. When you talk about Optium as compared to either Lucite L or OP3 (CYRO/Evonik), it's not the same product at all. Optium Museum is a coated acrylic sheet. Absolutely clear, abrasion resistant, and UV filtering. Conservation Clear Glass has been coated to make it UV filtering. UV filtering acrylic is part of the chemical pouring process and it not coated. Optium is coated acrylic to achieve it's special properties. These terms can be confusing so it's very important that you as a framer understand what you're asking for in glass and acrylic. You really can't compare UV filtering acrylic and Optium Museum acrylic other than to say they are both UV filtering.
 
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