Crack in the Acrylic

[charmama]

How can I stop a crack in the Acrylic? The lid of the bed hit the bottem and has cracked.what do i do?

[Natureboy]

Your kidding right? If I have to tell you then you should not be in the tanning business.

[Beach Bum]

You can't. Relpace it. You should keep at least one spare acrylic for each bed type you have.

[Mojave Tan]

We had a customer crack one of our base bed acryllics a couple of weeks ago when she first got in. Did it stop her....Heck no! She cracked it from top to bottom and let us know after her 20 minutes were up...Thank Goodness she didn't break through to the lamps.

[fd_tan]

I had the same thing happen. It was just a little crack that has grown to about 3 inches now. I wish there was something you can do to keep it from getting worse but replacement seems to be the only answer. I know that's an expense we can't always afford. Keeping spare acryllics is ideal if possible. I have trouble replacing something that doesn't seem to be a "huge deal" but I'm a tight wad. Just replace it and forget about it.

[theislandtan]

Originally Posted by fd_tan

I had the same thing happen. It was just a little crack that has grown to about 3 inches now. I wish there was something you can do to keep it from getting worse but replacement seems to be the only answer.

Get a small drill bit and drill a hole at the end of the crack. This will prevent it from spreading.

All you need is a very small hole so I tiny drill bit will work.

[fd_tan]

Great advice, I apppreciate it. I'll give it a try.

Maybe that will be your answer charmama.

[Mojave Tan]

My other solution...of course increased expenses$$
Deep cleaning the beds one day and I decide to throw my elbow into the acryllic leaning against the wall - freshly cleaned of course.
What can I say, I have talent and am a complete klutz at times.
It slid down the hall, scratched up the paint on the wall and shattered into a thousand tiny pieces.
Nothing like a happy day to start your work week!

[Tanning Queen]

Cracked acrylics are tacky and unsafe. Drilling a hole as a temporary solution til your new one comes in is fine. But if you are looking to do that to keep the bed in use for a long time, that is wrong.

Replace it ASAP.

[Brian Oshman]

If you drill the acrylic, use a 1/64" bit and run it at very high speed. If you run it slow it will make the crack worse. This only buys you time to get a new one.

[Natureboy]

Just shut the bed down for a few days. Most disty's should have your acrylic to you in a few days. Having a cracked acrylic or worse one with a hole drilled and cracks makes your place look so run down it is pathetic.

It is things like this that give so many salons in the industry a bad name.

Maybe I just do things differently and have more money to burn but we need to keep a standard for the industry.

It is like some salons I have seen where they run beds with burnt out lamps because they are too cheap to order a whole new set when they are already over 1000 hours or more.

[Beach Bum]

Well said Nature!

[theislandtan]

If the crack doesn't pose a safety risk then drill the hole and it'll stop spreading. Do what Brian said and you'll be fine.

I don't see the big deal. A small crack at the end of a bed isn't going to affect performance or safety.

[Tanning Queen]

Any crack in the acrylic is a weak point. So that is a safety issue.

THe fact that it looks like shit and says to the client that you cant afford to maintain your equipment is another.

[theislandtan]

Originally Posted by Tanning Queen

Any crack in the acrylic is a weak point. So that is a safety issue.

THe fact that it looks like shit and says to the client that you cant afford to maintain your equipment is another.

I disagree. A couple inch crack at the end is not a going to cause a weak point. It's purely a cosmetic issue and should be treated as such.

[Tanning Queen]

Ok.

[Tanning Queen]

Use duct tape instead. That is a good way to keep it from spreading too.

[theislandtan]

Originally Posted by Tanning Queen

Use duct tape instead. That is a good way to keep it from spreading too.

Actually it would cause the crack to grow quicker because the duct tape would absorb more heat. Just drill a hole and let it be.

[Beach Bum]

I think Queen was being cute about the duct tape. Duct tape and heat goes well together.

Don't be cheap. Replace it! If you can't afford to replace a acrylic you're probably about to go under anyway.

Leaving a crack acrlic in a bed looks cheap and makes a bad impression to your clients. If you don't think so, you're kidding yourself.

[Brian Oshman]

We are not talking a gaping hole or a split all the way down the acrylic. This is to temporarily fix a minor crack at the edge or at a non load bearing point in order to allow you to run the bed until the new acrylic arrives. This trick is not rcommended if the crack is where the customer lies but it is fine for certain cracks to get you by and does not devalue the industry to do this on a temporary basis.

Of course it should be replaced as soon as possible but if that is your money making bed you do not shut it down unless it is really completely unusable.