[The_Rookie]

I had a lexan lip break last night when my lure crashed against the rocks..... MY FAULT for fishing in pitch dark... Plus Im rusty with my casting lately.. haven't been on the lake much.. Now I dont know if I cut out a old picece of plexy glass thinkin it was lexan.. but Im about 95 percent sure it was Lexan!! I have tried to break this crap in the past with pliers.. all I ever do is bend it... ANY THOUGHTS!!!

Good news is.. I just drilled out the old lip and put a new one in today!

Is lexan unbreakable? I always thought it was the best you could put on your baits.

[diemai]

I guess , that it must be that 5% of your uncertainity , though I am not sure about wether Lexan may go through a process of "aging" under certain circumstances(long exposure to sunlight or contact with solvents or chemicals or similar) , that may render it breakable .

Many years ago I have made some three larger lures with Plexiglass lips from scrap(didn't know it better back then) , one accidentally slipped from my hand and fell tail first on the floor , the impact shock was enough to crack off the lip like laser-cut around the belly curve !
Thought , that the lip was damaged before , so I dropped a second lure intentionally the same way , and it happened again !

After I cut out all the three lips on my routing machine and replaced them with aluminium ones .

Good Luck , diemai

[Vodkaman]

You obviously need to know for sure what the problem was.

Because lexan and plexiglass are different materials, then a scratch comparison test with a sharpened nail should give you the answer, if you compare with a known piece of lexan and plexiglass. I don't have any myself, or I would do the test to confirm a difference.

Also, closely examine the broken edge. Is the break clean? If rings are visible, this would indicate a flaw in the material, at the centre of the rings.

Does anyone know of another method of telling plexiglass from lexan?

[hazmail]

Stick it in some hot oil @ 165C, and if it bends and is still clear, it's Polycarbonate. pete

[woodieb8]

we use lexan only. it will occasionally break. cold water and rocks will shatter lexan. its still far superior compared to plastics.

[rofish]

Rookie,
Here is the simplest test you can do.
Put acetone, or thinner containing acetone on the remaining lip. If the acetone melts the lip, you will know it is plexi. If acetone whitens the lip, it is Lexan. Better put a piece of the lip in acetone, because it takes some time for you to see the result.

[spare tire]

I can put a 90 degree bend in the stuff without heating and not have it break.
I'm thinking yours was plexi

[Dean McClain]

Originally Posted by spare tire

I can put a 90 degree bend in the stuff without heating and not have it break.
I'm thinking yours was plexi

[Dean McClain]

Originally Posted by hazmail

Stick it in some hot oil @ 165C, and if it bends and is still clear, it's Polycarbonate. pete

We don't let Tater near boiling oil since that incident with a Turkey fryer last Thanksgiving.

[Spike-A-Pike]

I was surprised at how many different grades of polycarbonate there are. This is a list of compounds that can damage polycarbonate:

• Acetone
• Acrylonitrile
• Ammonia
• Amyl acetate
• Benzene
• Bromine
• Butyl acetate
• Sodium hydroxide
• Chloroform
• Dimethylformamide
• Concentrated hydrochloric acid
• Concentrated hydrofluoric acid
• Iodine
• Methanol
• Methyl ethyl ketone
• Styrene
• Tetrachloroethylene
• Toluene
• Concentrated sulfuric acid
• Xylene
• Cyanoacrylate monomers

At temperatures above 60 °C hydrolysis can occur, degrading the plastic. Degradation depends on time and temperature. Using sodium hypochlorite (bleach) and other alkali cleaners on polycarbonate are not recommended as they cause the release of bisphenol A, a known endocrine disrupter. Alcohol is one recommended organic solvent for cleaning grease and oils from polycarbonate.