What are Grade C, Grade B, and Grade A Polycarbonate Sheets?
The so-called Grade C, Grade B, and Grade A Polycarbonate Sheets refer to polycarbonate sheets with service lives of three years, five years, and ten years respectively. According to the national standard JGT 116-2012 Polycarbonate (PC) Hollow Sheets, Grade C and Grade B Polycarbonate Sheets are obviously non-standard products that do not meet quality requirements. They can only be used for temporary purposes and shall not be applied as construction engineering materials.
Due to the difficulty for customers to distinguish between Grade C, Grade B, and Grade A Polycarbonate Sheets, the market is flooded with substandard products. Therefore, we must learn how to select polycarbonate sheets properly and should not choose non-standard products for the sake of low prices.
Both Grade C and Grade B Polycarbonate Sheets are produced with different proportions of recycled materials during manufacturing. Such recycled materials will accelerate the aging of the sheets. If you carefully observe the interior of these sheets, you will find granular impurities similar to sand particles. Grade C and Grade B Polycarbonate Sheets often have insufficient nominal thickness and weight, and some even lack UV coating for anti-aging protection.
It is better to buy a 4mm-thick Grade A Polycarbonate Sheet with a 10-year warranty than a 10mm-thick non-standard Grade C or Grade B one. The service life of a polycarbonate sheet has no direct relation to its thickness; a 4mm-thick double-layer hollow Grade A Polycarbonate Sheet is equally durable.
How to Identify a Genuine Grade A Polycarbonate Sheet?
- Check the raw material quality: Peel off the protective film and observe the sheet. Those with granular impurities are made of recycled materials, while clean and transparent ones are made of new materials.
- Measure the thickness: Use a ruler to verify if the total thickness matches the nominal value. If a sheet claimed to be 6mm thick actually measures only 5mm or 5.5mm, it is definitely non-standard.
- Weigh the sheet: The standard weight of common polycarbonate sheets is as follows:
- 4mm = 1.0KG per square meter
- 6mm = 1.2KG per square meter
- 8mm = 1.4KG per square meter
- 10mm = 1.6KG per square meter
- Inspect the UV coating: The UV coating functions to slow down the aging process of the polycarbonate sheet. To test this, you can use a UV lamp (easily available online). When the UV lamp irradiates the upper surface of the sheet, it will emit fluorescence. Carefully observe the outermost layer of the fluorescence—you will see thin threads like human hair, which is the UV coating. If you do not have the testing equipment, you can ask the seller to provide an anti-aging warranty certificate.
