Interpret the archived GE Lexan 8A35 data across velvet/polished orientation, optics, printing, windows, forming, cutting, and current approval. This resource is for manufacturers evaluating custom nameplates, labels, overlays, or related identification components. Use it to prepare your project questions, then talk with our team about the requirements that apply to your part.
GE Lexan 8A35 is represented by an archived May 2005 product datasheet for transparent polycarbonate film with two deliberately different faces: velvet on one side and polished on the other. The source discusses multilayer printing, overlays, high-performance labels, in-mold decoration, light-emitting devices, and several forming or cutting processes. Those examples show why face orientation must be established before artwork or tooling begins.
This guide maps each operation to the face it affects. The old GE document labels its property values typical, mainly based on 0.010-inch film, and unsuitable as specifications. It also assigns the user responsibility for end-use testing. Confirm current grade ownership, availability, gauges, surface designations, optical data, ink compatibility, processing, masking, and regulatory status. U.S. Nameplate does not warrant the archival values.
The velvet face was historically associated with mar resistance, while the opposite face was polished. Either side could influence appearance, but they are not interchangeable. A user-facing velvet surface can diffuse reflections and mask light handling marks. A polished exterior can create higher gloss and color depth but may show scratches or fingerprints more readily.
Write the orientation on the drawing. Do not rely on operators to infer it from feel. For control panel overlays or graphic overlays, identify the first surface, second surface, print side, adhesive side, and viewing direction in one diagram.
The 2005 description says 8A35 could be printed with traditional solvent- or water-based screen inks and UV- or infrared-drying systems without pretreatment. That is dated compatibility guidance, not approval for a current ink set. Reverse printing behind the film can protect graphics, while first-surface printing exposes ink directly to touch and cleaners.
Coordinate a controlled build with screen printing. If variable data is proposed, verify digital printing independently; the archival list does not cover every current process.
The datasheet reports typical transmission, haze, gloss, and yellowness values for the old product. A velvet surface scatters light, so a film can transmit substantial light without producing a clear see-through window. This matters over displays, LEDs, legends, and backlit symbols.
Define whether the application needs a transparent viewing window, diffuse illumination, hidden-when-unlit icon, or only light transmission through a colored legend. Build a sample using the actual display, air gap, ink, adhesive, and lighting. Evaluate brightness uniformity, hot spots, image blur, color shift, glare, and off-axis viewing. Do not describe the film as optically clear simply because it is transparent.
The archived manufacturing table lists 0.010-to-0.020-inch nominal gauges with historical tolerance bands. The wider Lexan family property table also reports tensile, tear, puncture, impact, fold, and thermal values, mostly for one reference thickness. Gauge changes stiffness, forming force, key response, edge profile, and print handling.
The 2005 description names thermoforming, embossing, die cutting, hydro-forming, and bending as possible processes. That list indicates processability; it does not supply tooling temperatures, draw limits, radii, or recovery tolerances. Printing and surface texture can respond differently to heat and strain.
Use embossing and forming to test the exact gauge, orientation, ink stack, and geometry. Inspect texture stretch, gloss change, whitening, cracking, thinning, print distortion, and height recovery. If a forming step brings the polished face into tool contact, establish protection against scuffs and impressions.
Windows and perimeter cuts must stay registered to legends and formed keys. Transparent edges make burrs, debris, stress whitening, and adhesive contamination visible. A velvet/polished material may also feed or hold differently depending on which surface contacts rollers, vacuum, or tooling.
Coordinate die and digital cutting with the face map. Establish corner radii, clearance from printed areas, allowable edge condition, liner or masking handling, and dimensional inspection after forming. Use final art and gauge in the trial.
The archived table includes thermal expansion, glass transition, Vicat softening, heat-deflection, shrinkage, conductivity, and brittleness results. These values arise from distinct test methods. They do not create one approved forming or service-temperature window.
List every heat event: ink drying, UV cure, forming, adhesive lamination, storage, sunlight, electronics, and cleaning. Obtain current processing guidance for each. Then inspect dimensions, surface texture, print adhesion, optical performance, and attachment after the complete heat history.
The 8A35 datasheet covers film, not an integrated adhesive. An overlay may require a selective adhesive pattern that leaves display and key areas open. Clear windows can reveal bubbles, silvering, dust, or adhesive edges. Bond strength also depends on the panel coating, texture, geometry, and cleaning.
Build the stack through laminating only after adhesive compatibility and layout are approved. Test application to the real panel, including edge hold, window cleanliness, dimensional alignment, and removal or replacement where required.
The supplier described velvet texture as mar resistant, but the old table does not present a complete cleaner or chemical-resistance program for the finished overlay. Mar resistance of bare film does not guarantee survival of printed ink, formed keys, adhesive, or repeated disinfection.
The May 2005 page reports mechanical and optical values under ASTM or ISO methods and includes gauge limits for the old product. The disclaimer states that the user must identify and perform all tests necessary for a safe and suitable finished part. Use current certifiable properties where engineering requires minimums; do not copy the whole old table onto a drawing.
Record material, gauge, face orientation, print side, ink, adhesive, window and forming geometry, tolerances, environment, cleaning, and inspection under quality standards. If several overlay variants share one platform, label sets can coordinate revision and packing without obscuring their individual part identities.
A complete request includes current supplier documentation, gauge, first/second surfaces, viewing side, print side, artwork, illumination, windows, colors, forming, finished dimensions, adhesive layout, panel sample, cleaners, temperature, quantity, and acceptance tests. The two-face structure should be visible on every handoff from prepress through installation.
The enduring lesson in the old 8A35 sheet is orientation discipline. Velvet and polished faces change printing, optics, forming, handling, and inspection. To evaluate a current dual-surface polycarbonate overlay, request a consultation with the latest film data and a working assembly.
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