Lexan sheets as flooring?

Tom Howley

Member
I imagine this has to be a thing in some form, yes? Very shiny, hard floor surface? And I see Stagelam discussed a lot-- but is using conventional (black) Lexan sheeting an option for a single-production floor treatment? I confess, I have misgivings-- how does it attach/stay down? What does the subfloor need to be? How much does it mar/scratch with use? Heck, can you put a ladder on it and not crack it? How thick a sheet would be optimal?
 
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If it were me, I would not. Lexan, while a cool material, is still highly prone to Scratching and those scratches are very diffficult to remove. It you want a crazy shiny black floor I suggest you purchase a purpose mixed floor paint, our local supplier has one they call "Tuf Tread". Use 5mm / 1/4" MDF as your flooring. You're going to want to fill and finish screw holes if you want an unbroken look to the floor. Once everything is beautiful mop with several applications of "future" floor finish using an impeccably clean Swiffer, or lambs wool polyurethane application thingy. You will have a HIGHLY shiny surface. Because it is an Acrylic finish it is slightly flexible and it wears quite well. IF you get scuff marks then grab a bottle of Windex, or ammonia in a spray bottle <Windex is easier on the nostrils> spray the area let it sit for a minute than mop with the Swiffer or just mop over the area with more Future.
One issue I have noticed with Future is that,, because of it's more plastic nature, it tends to be grabby. Dancers don't like it and it doesn't like things sliding. I have not come up w any good way to refinish Polyurethane over the course of a shows run or I would suggest that.
Good Luck and Welcome aboard!
 
If it were me, I would not. Lexan, while a cool material, is still highly prone to Scratching and those scratches are very diffficult to remove. It you want a crazy shiny black floor I suggest you purchase a purpose mixed floor paint, our local supplier has one they call "Tuf Tread". Use 5mm / 1/4" MDF as your flooring. You're going to want to fill and finish screw holes if you want an unbroken look to the floor. Once everything is beautiful mop with several applications of "future" floor finish using an impeccably clean Swiffer, or lambs wool polyurethane application thingy. You will have a HIGHLY shiny surface. Because it is an Acrylic finish it is slightly flexible and it wears quite well. IF you get scuff marks then grab a bottle of Windex, or ammonia in a spray bottle <Windex is easier on the nostrils> spray the area let it sit for a minute than mop with the Swiffer or just mop over the area with more Future.
One issue I have noticed with Future is that,, because of it's more plastic nature, it tends to be grabby. Dancers don't like it and it doesn't like things sliding. I have not come up w any good way to refinish Polyurethane over the course of a shows run or I would suggest that.
Good Luck and Welcome aboard!
a) Thank you kindly-- This is clearly a forum I should've been making use of years ago, and-
b) Your suggestion is very much along the lines of the "could we do this instead?" proposal I had in mind. It's also 'WAY more budget-friendly, which is not a minor consideration. My first assumption of course was that I had totally missed some chunk of common knowledge regarding the use of cast acrylics as flooring sheet goods. . .

Much appreciated-- and great forum you have here!
 
lol why? They're going to hate it and the director shall overrule!
Ha! No, truly-- we are solidly 8-10 years past being the kind of company where any single Artistic Lead has the agency to pound on a table, shouting "I don't care what ANYONE says! I WANT [fill-in-the-blank]-! PERIOD!!!" Budgets tame even the mightiest of egos in these situations. . .
 
Rosco "Show floor"?
Oh, far too pricey-- $2300 to $2500 for a mandatory full roll (+shipping?). The actual vertical scenery would be a higher priority than this, w/out question. (It also looks a little more "Event-ish", y'know?)
 
There's a company called Marlite that make fiberglass reinforced panels intended for walls, in colors including smooth black. I also hear people use "marlite" generically for a sheet material with an MDF substrate and various finishes, including gloss black. I don't know a good generic term for the latter and have had trouble sourcing it, but it does exist. Anyone have any clarification on that? Maybe it's the same as melamine?
 
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