High-quality acrylic

mithridate

I'm trying to imagine display solutions that would work in areas exposed to oodles of daylight, and so I have a couple of questions that I'm hoping a pedantic collector can authoritatively answer:

1) Can you buy acrylic that is treated / coated in a way that (almost entirely) negates the deleterious effects of sunlight? 
1a) If so, what are some of the specific terms used when looking for such?
or, 1b) Can you link to a source that makes to measure such acrylic panels and can competitively ship to the non-contiguous US?
or, 1c) Can you link to a source that has cases of various sizes made of such acrylic at competitive prices and shipping rates?

Thank you in advance!

Fizyx

Something treated with a UV blocking treatment would go a long way towards negating the sunlight issue, but you're never going to be able to stop it entirely.  Light is very energetic, and that energy transfer over time is what causes the issues.  You can cut back on it further by blocking out things on the blue end of the spectrum, but that is going to tint your display colors.  So your best bet is something that blocks UVA and UVB, which you you should be able to get.  Not sure what the prices would be though, as I've never shopped for it myself.

ryjay

I think you're looking for ultra violet filtering acrylic.  I would suggest going to a frame store.  I'm sure the have product that would protect pictures and such in frames that could work for you.

ryjay

Tap plastic has this...
www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/cut_to_size_plastic/acrylic_sheets_op3_uv_filtering/512

mithridate

Thanks for the info and advice, @Fizyx and @ryjay. Tap Plastics may be the way to go ultimately. I think they were one of the top Google results when I was searching in the past, but I didn't know whether it was a good deal or not.

On the same topic: I've always felt that acrylic (display) boxes are a bit pricey, for no apparent reason other than that they can get away with it. That being said, if I do happen upon acrylic boxes that are competitively priced, and are also advertised as having an anti-UV protective coat, is it safe to assume that they're legit, or is this the type of market where it's typical to make random claims?

CCC

What sort of room are you displaying in? And does it make sense to UV filter the windows rather than the cases?

mithridate

I think this is one of those moments where I couldn’t see the forest from the trees. You make an excellent point, @CCC — updating the windows would make the most general and long-term sense for us... especially since it was one of our home-related goals anyway.

TheFew

Would standard triple glazing kill most UV?

PisceanPet

I'm a picture framer in the UK but I use products from a US company called TruVue for Conservation Glass & Acrylic.  They do an acrylic called TruLIfe which protects from 99% of UV.  Standard glass filters out about 40% of UV, but you can buy a UV window film to put on existing windows rather than change them.  I'm guessing your local framer would stock or be able to order some sort of UV acrylic.