Plexiglass - where to buy in Toronto?

[spitfire]

Hi folks! I have a question all you Toronto-area modellers. Does anyone have a source for tinted plexiglass and/or large-size sheet styrene in the area? I'm looking to have some green-tinted windows in the clerestory storey of my foundry, and have checked the Yellow Pages and the net looking for a supplier, with no luck. There must be somewhere to get this stuff. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

cheers
Val

 

[Partsman]

I've seen flip-down face shields made from green plastic. It would be thin enough to cut with scissors, I think. They may be sold to protect workers from welding flash. Perhaps a welding supplies distributor?

Perhaps some of the aftermarket film for tinting car windows from Canadian Tire or other auto accessory companies would also work.

We used Cadillac Plastics for much of our 'Plexiglass' or 'Lexan' supplies, but sheets of this material might be too thick for your purposes.

If you have access to a Fraser's Directory, I'm sure it would give you more companies.

 

[ezdays]

Val,

If you're going to buy already tinted plexiglas, you'll probably not find it thinner than about 1/8". You may be better off going to a plastic fabricator and looking for "cuttoffs", or stuff they normally throw away.

But.... How would you like to tint your own? You can get bottles of glass-staining transparent paint. I've used it to color both glass and plexiglass and it works fine. Lots of colors. You can get it at most craft stores. It goes on thick and milky, but dries thin and tranparent and if you don't like what you see you can just peel it off. I've put a drop or two on a few of my model windows as well as staining full size windows.

Don

 

[Blake]

Just go to this place first. What you are looking for is a gel filter for photographic lighting. If you go to the Rosco site first you can flip around in there to find out how to get a swatch book. This gives you a small piece of each of the filters they make. According to mine, the color you want is a Rosco Cinelux #89 Moss Green or a Rosco CalColor #4490 green. You can order these from a camera shop at about $5 to $7 a sheet. The sheets are quite large, you'll never have to buy another one.

Rosco Filters

 

[spitfire]

Great!

Thanks so much Bill, Don and Blake. Those are all excellent tips! Now I just have to decide which route to go. Decisions, decisions!

cheers
Val

 

[CarlFidy]

Try office supply store....

My first thought when you described trying to make "tinted" windows was some sort of "report cover." Did a little searching around Office Depots site and came up with this....

GBC® Translucent Gel 3/8" Plastic Binding Combs, Sage Green, Pack Of 12
http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=283899

$2.09 for 12 aprrox 8.5"x11" sheets

Would think something like this would be thin enough to work with easily

 

[Matthyro]

Val, Beaver Lumber used to sell plexi-glass and when they were bought out and closed by Home Hardware, they said you could get the goods from them. I havent checked it out myself but imagine most lumber sellers like Hom Depot, The Building Box or Rona may have it in stock.

 

[Vic]

Hi Val, Plexiglas and Lexan are terribly expensive!!!....If you are just wanting to make colored window glass check out an office supply place for overhead projector sheets...they are clear and come in all different colors. If you cant find the colored one you can color them yourself with the stained glass paints.

Don't know what thickness of styrene you are looking for? But... if you need larger sheets than what you can buy in a hobby shop check with a screen printing shop. They can probably tell you where to get it. They use it to print signs on.

 

[Hunkiedoo]

Plastic Suppliers

Val:
You might try Model Builders Supply, 1140 Englehard Drive, Aurora. Phone: 905-841-8392

They're not a hobby shop although there is some overlap with LHS scenery - more supplier to architecture model business. Worth a trip just to see different stuff.

OR

Park Plastic Products Ltd. 81 Glen Cameron Rd. (E. of Yonge N. of Steeles), Thornhill Phone: 905-889-1324. I got some lexan sheet here. It's now lining table-edge track. But VERY Expensive. Wouldn't do it again.

 

[spitfire]

Thanks all. Vic, I guess I'm remembering back when you used to be able to pick up 10" x 15" sheets of plexiglass cheap, which makes me wonder - what about all those supposedly cheaper ways of making skyscrapers out of plexi? Hmmmmm.
Anyway, I'm only need it for tinting windows, so I don't need the thickness. In fact it would be easier to have something I can cut with scissors. So photo gels or report covers sound ideal. Or maybe that craft paint.
Carl I've already tried Business Depot (Staples) looking for this, but they didn't have the colour I need, which is a fairly subtle green.
Thanks WD for the addresses. Sounds like an interesting trip just to check out what they have - my idea of a day well-spent!

cheers
Val