Interpret the archived GE Lexan 8B35 data across velvet/matte orientation, haze, lighting, printing, forming, attachment, 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 8B35 is described in an archived May 2005 datasheet as transparent polycarbonate film with velvet on one face and matte on the other. The supplier positioned it for multilayer printing, overlays, floor graphics, labels, in-mold decoration, forming, cutting, and use over light-emitting devices. The two low-gloss surfaces create a different design problem from clear polished film: the team must decide how much diffusion, texture, and surface protection each side should contribute.
This guide organizes that decision as a contrast board. It compares visible face, print face, illumination, feature size, gauge, and exposure before a single construction is approved. The document’s numbers are typical historical values, generally based on 0.010-inch film, and the supplier says they are not specification limits. Verify current product identity, manufacturer, availability, gauges, treatments, inks, processing, masking, and regulatory records. U.S. Nameplate does not extend the 2005 data into a warranty.
The velvet face offers a finer tactile and visual texture, while the matte face provides a different low-gloss finish. Either can be presented to the user, but appearance and handling will differ. A velvet exterior may soften reflections and show less incidental marking. A matte exterior may change diffuse light, print appearance, and surface feel.
Apply a permanent face designation to the drawing. For graphic overlays, identify exterior, viewing direction, print side, adhesive side, and any display window. Do not let the sheet be flipped during printing or converting without detection.
The archival description lists solvent-based, water-based, UV-drying, and infrared-drying screen inks as historical options without pretreatment. Present compatibility must be confirmed. A first-surface image sits on the exposed texture and must tolerate touch and cleaning. A reverse image is viewed through polycarbonate and can be protected by the film, but texture and haze affect its appearance.
Use screen printing to build and retain a controlled color stack. A separate compatibility study is required before using digital printing.
The old table reports typical light transmission and a very high haze entry, along with gloss and yellowness figures. The product can transmit light while strongly diffusing it. That may help spread illumination across a legend, but it can reduce see-through detail and alter the apparent edge of graphics.
Build the optical test around the intended function. For an indicator, examine brightness uniformity, unlit hiding, color, halo, and off-axis viewing. For a display window, assess whether texture prevents required clarity. For a control panel overlay, test with the actual LEDs, display, air gap, printed inks, adhesive pattern, and backing color.
The source describes the velvet texture as mar resistant and includes a typical Taber abrasion haze-change result. That evidence concerns the old bare-film test. An overlay’s exposed face may also encounter fingers, rings, tools, oils, cleaners, dust, and repeated wiping. Printed ink or a formed feature can fail differently than the film surface.
The archived manufacturing table includes nominal gauges from 0.003 through 0.020 inch, with different min/max limits. The old fold-endurance figures also vary by thickness. Thin film may support close conformance and compact edges, while thicker film may feel more substantial and bridge larger openings. Forming and key response change with gauge.
Use an assembly trial to determine the correct thickness. When domes, ribs, or shaped windows are involved, coordinate embossing and forming with the final texture orientation and ink. Check feature height, spring response, distortion, whitening, cracking, and recovery after environmental cycling.
Texture can affect stencil contact, ink deposit, small reverse characters, and optical edge definition. Cutting also exposes transparent edges where burrs or whitening may be visible. The 2005 sheet’s broad processability statement does not establish minimum type size or cut radius.
Coordinate artwork with die and digital cutting. Use the actual film gauge, printed layers, and any formed features. Inspect windows, holes, narrow bridges, corners, and registration to legends. Protect the user-facing surface from tool marks and debris throughout handling.
The 8B35 sheet describes film only. A usable overlay often includes adhesive, selective windows, spacers, or backers. Attachment must be qualified for the panel coating, surface texture, geometry, temperature, chemical exposure, and replacement requirement. Transparent regions make bubbles and contamination especially visible.
Develop the adhesive layout with laminating. Keep windows and moving-key areas free where necessary. Test edge hold, registration, flatness, visible defects, and removal on the actual panel. No optical property in the film table proves adhesive compatibility.
The archive lists several thermal properties, including expansion, glass transition, softening, heat deflection, shrinkage, and brittleness. They were measured by different methods and cannot be collapsed into one processing limit. Ink drying, UV exposure, forming heat, lamination, and service temperature create separate histories.
Map each heat event and obtain current supplier guidance. After the complete sequence, measure finished dimensions, feature geometry, print adhesion, texture, optical appearance, and attachment. A film that survives one isolated temperature test may still warp when restrained by adhesive or a panel.
The old table contains tensile, impact, tear, puncture, optical, physical, and surface-energy entries. The footnote says users needing minimum certifiable properties should contact the supplier’s quality organization. That distinction should be preserved. Typical values support comparison; controlled minimums support engineering specifications.
Include only properties relevant to the actual design. Define the current test method, gauge, conditioning, sampling, and acceptance. Record the resulting material and process under quality standards. Do not market the finished overlay as electrically insulating, impact protective, chemically resistant, or compliant unless those conclusions are separately supported.
Different products may share the same base film but use distinct print colors, windows, adhesive patterns, or formed keys. Keep face orientation and material identity explicit in each part record. Where related parts ship together, label sets can manage revision and packing while preserving unique drawing requirements.
A complete request should include current datasheet, gauge, visible face, print side, artwork, illumination, surface targets, windows, forming, adhesive, panel sample, environment, cleaners, dimensions, quantities, and acceptance tests.
The 8B35 archive provides useful differences between velvet and matte surfaces, but the final choice depends on how printing, illumination, touch, forming, cutting, and attachment combine. The correct sample is a functioning overlay, not a loose square under office light.
To compare a current velvet/matte polycarbonate construction for an overlay or label, request a consultation with the latest supplier documentation and production-representative components.
Made with ♥ by Aelieve