Cheap poster frame material without buying a frame?

January 21, 2017 6:50 AM

Where can I get the kind of clear, bendable plastic that comes in cheap poster frames?

I'm working on an art project and I need some of that stuff but I don't know where to get it without buying poster frames that I don't need. I also don't know the right name for that material. It doesn't seem to be thick enough to be considered plexiglass, or is it? Any clues to help me get my hands on some will be appreciated. It has to be CLEAR for my project. Thanks!

posted by cellura p to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

i think you want polycarbonate sheets
posted by noloveforned at 6:55 AM on January 21, 2017

or possibly acrylic sheets
posted by noloveforned at 6:57 AM on January 21, 2017

Best answer: Polycarbonate is strong and flexible. Real acrylic is very brittle, which is nice if you're cutting things by hand, but probably not as flexible as you want. It's also flammable so it's not used in home products any more.
posted by miyabo at 7:04 AM on January 21, 2017

Response by poster: It looks like it is cheaper to buy the cheap poster frames after all(?) What I want is about .030 thick and the price to buy a poster sized (24x48) sheet of polycarbonate looks like almost $100. I can get two 24 x 36 inch poster frames from walmart for less than $20.
posted by cellura p at 7:21 AM on January 21, 2017

Try a hardware store or your local BigBox home improvement store -- there's usually a lot of options over by the plastic sheet goods (differing weights, transparency levels, and rigidities).
posted by jlkr at 7:37 AM on January 21, 2017

Amazon has 24x48 for $21. Still more expensive than Walmart though.
posted by cgg at 7:40 AM on January 21, 2017

Every reasonable sized city has a plastics seller. In Salt Lake City it is a company in South Salt Lake. You go there, ask for what you want, they cut it to size, as many as you like. That place is called Delvie Plastic. Here is a ready cut mat kit place. So, between a plastics place where you buy what you want, and the pre cut mat and backing kit, you are set for however much framing you want to accomplish. Also you can shop sales out of home decor places attached to big box places and wait for 1/2 off frame sales. Big poster frames with "glass" and reusable frame can be as little as $10.
posted by Oyéah at 10:17 AM on January 21, 2017

I usually use McMaster-Carr for things like this. They sell almost literally everything, including many varieties of polycarbonate sheets.
posted by softlord at 8:13 PM on January 21, 2017