1/16" Smoked polycarbonate sheet
Tinted grey — you can still see through it, with the glare and heat taken out.
Smoked polycarbonate sheet, cut to your exact size from 12" to 48" per side. Pick a standard size or enter custom dimensions, add flame- or diamond-polished edges, and see the price instantly — no quote for straight cuts, no minimum order. Note: polycarbonate should not be laser cut.
- High impact strength — far tougher than acrylic
- Grey tint runs through the sheet, not a surface film
- 6 thicknesses, 1/16"–1/2"
What smoked polycarbonate is for
Smoked polycarbonate is the middle option, and it exists for the jobs where clear is too bright and black is too blind. The grey tint cuts transmitted light and solar heat while leaving the panel see-through, so an operator can still watch the process, a display still reads, and a shield still lets you check what is behind it.
That combination is why it shows up as machine-guard windows, equipment and AV covers, tinted glazing on carports and walkways, and display fronts where a smoked face makes backlit graphics and screens look richer by lowering the surrounding brightness.
It keeps polycarbonate's impact resistance unchanged — the tint is in the material, not a film on the surface, so it does not scratch off or peel.
Why 1/16" specifically
At 1/16" polycarbonate is a thin, flexible sheet that still refuses to shatter — it will bend right around a curve and spring back. That makes it the choice for lightweight glazing, machine-guard windows in a frame, protective facings, and template or gasket work where a thin sheet has to survive handling. It is not a self-supporting panel: unframed and unsupported it will flex under its own weight over any real span.
Do not cut polycarbonate in a laser
Polycarbonate absorbs the beam instead of cutting cleanly: it scorches brown along every edge, melts and re-welds, gives off fumes you should not breathe, and can catch fire. It also coats the optics. This is true of every laser and every thickness — CO2 and diode alike, and it is not a settings problem.
Cut polycarbonate mechanically — saw, router or shears — or tell us the finished size and we will cut it for you. If the part is going in a laser, you want acrylic instead; the craft & laser range is set up for exactly that.
Questions
What is smoked Lexan?
Smoked Lexan is grey-tinted polycarbonate sheet. The tint is through the material rather than applied as a film, so it will not scratch off or peel, and it reduces transmitted light and heat while staying see-through.
Does tinting weaken polycarbonate?
No. Smoked polycarbonate has the same impact resistance as clear — the pigment is added during manufacture and does not change the mechanical properties in any way that matters for guarding or glazing.
Smoked polycarbonate or smoked acrylic?
Both exist. Choose polycarbonate wherever the panel could be struck; choose acrylic where appearance and optical clarity matter more than toughness and the panel is protected.