Macrolon vs. Strataglass

V

van lafermine

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476
I have a express cruiser that has strataglass above the windshield. I am consideering replacing it with Macrolon but would like opinions from those who have it. My strata is been in the sun for 7 seasons and is getting cloudy. I polish and clean weekly with Imar and am very careful with how I take care of it. I can not use EZ2CY because the corners of the windscreen will need to bend. none of the strata has ever been roled. The center piece is the only one that I snap up to to the hard top when under way and is never bent.

My question for those who have experienced this is, Is the Macralon woth the extra cost, how is it to maintain and what seems to be the life span of it vs. Strataglass?

Thanks in advance
 
I'm extremely happy with the macraloni have only have it for two season so I can't speak for longevity. I wish I used it on the side panels as well I used to have the thickest strata glass and expected that that was wh a t I was going to get when it was replaced. What I was told was they no long made what I had since the started making macralon. In any event it is no harder to maintain and it looks great!
 
Makrolon. ( spelling ) will what they call CRAZE on any radius's over time. I have Makrolon on my boat so far with out incident. Im told it starts to appear after 4-6 years... Its been 4 years for me. The clarity of Makrolon is near perfect. Numerous people have had issues over time and only on curved sections. Crazing are small spider cracks in the plastic. Im told it happens due the thinkness of the material. The manufacturer recc's a thicker material then the Canvas guys use. They use the thinner material as they cant SEW the thicker Makrolon. I think we had a thread about this a few years back if someone wants to do the search. When this stuff fails I have no problems replacing. The optics are that good . IT cleans up well and is very scratch resistant.

Rob
 
Do you think by having a cover over the Makrolon and windshield that may take care of some of the crazing issues?
 
quote:
I can not use EZ2CY because the corners of the windscreen will need to bend.
Click to expand...


What kind of a bend are you talking about? EZ2CY will form a decent radius, you see this on big sportfishers all the time. No, it does not fold at a sharp angle. This i know!. Those are EZ2CY panels across the back of my boat shown in my avatar. The middle one pulls up and attaches to the ceiling of the aft deck, works great, just have to make sure those side zippers are completely unzipped!
 
I have been using Makrolon for 6 years now and have experienced no problems. I wash with soap and water.
 
quote:
Originally posted by caltexfla

quote:
I can not use EZ2CY because the corners of the windscreen will need to bend.
Click to expand...


What kind of a bend are you talking about? EZ2CY will form a decent radius, you see this on big sportfishers all the time. No, it does not fold at a sharp angle. This i know!. Those are EZ2CY panels across the back of my boat shown in my avatar. The middle one pulls up and attaches to the ceiling of the aft deck, works great, just have to make sure those side zippers are completely unzipped!

Click to expand...


X2 . As Caltexfla notes, no problem bending EZ2CY in normal windshield radius, it just can't be folded or rolled up. it's great for sections that stay up for whole seasons , or can be "hinged up" when opened.

I've had total 7 panels above the forward and side windshields for 18-19 yrs and love the stuff. (Have good Stratoglass for the 3 roll-up aft curtains that's good but definitely not as clear_.
The only thing I've replaced was a few zippers and one panel that was deeply scratched by a well-meaning friend who polished that EZ2CY with a microfiber cloth that had picked up a couple grains of sand from the bottom of his tackle bag.

For any clears, suggest you be very careful using micro-fiber cloths which are like Velcro for particles.
 
My Makrolon is crazing at the curves after 4 seasons, just as Rob describes.
 
The EZ2CY on my boat has been in place over 9 years now. Spray off with water and dry with Bounty towels, clean with 210 every month or so.
 
Makrolon is a brand name. It's a polycarbonate made by Bayer Material Science..
 
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