Do you require a Sunbed Acrylic or Sunbed Perspex (as some like to call it) but are not sure where to purchase one from, or which sunbed Perspex to buy? Should it be a body moulded, or can I have a flat sunbed acrylic? Then ECS Sunbeds are the best choice for you. We supply Ergoline acrylics along with Megasun Perspex, we also have flat sunbed Perspex to fit any lie-down or stand-up sunbed. It is worth mentioning that sunbed acrylics come in different thicknesses ranging from 2mm up to 8mm in thickness. It is always worth checking with a professional before you make your purchase.
The leading brands such as Ergoline and Megasun lie-down sunbeds all require 8mm for the base acrylic, while for stand-up sunbeds, most take 2mm to 3mm in sunbed acrylics. A sunbed acrylic is one of the most important pieces of equipment for your sunbed, without one you simply can not use it. You should always clean your sunbed Perspex with the correct sanitiser such as Twist Clean, which you can purchase from American Leisure, it is one of the most popular sunbed sanitisers in the UK. It doesn’t leave any streaks and gives a crystal-clear surface when used. You should never use an abrasive cloth when cleaning your sunbed as this will leave a cloudy effect on your sunbed acrylic which will never disappear. A sunbed acrylic should last you several years when it is looked after in the correct way. We advise that you place signs in your sunbed room requesting the sunbed user not to put their feet up on the sunbed when tying laces or putting on shoes, you’d be surprised how many sunbed Perspex are broken by clients misusing them.
A sunbed acrylic is the most important part of a sunbed, and it should be treated with absolute care when clients are using them. When salon owners clean them, they should use the correct cleaning products as products will damage the acrylic. A well-looked-after sunbed acrylic should easily last 5 years.
The majority of sunbed acrylics that break is caused by client neglect. Clients, when using sunbeds, will put their feet on acrylic to tie shoe/trainer laces, and they will sit on the ends of the acrylic to get changed or put socks on, and this will put unnecessary and excessive pressure on your acrylic. The best practice is always putting signs up requesting clients to follow guidelines of what they are not to do and prevent this from happening.
Nowadays, most sunbed acrylics cost a fortune, in some instances well over £1,000, one of the best practices is to insure your sunbed acrylic against damage, this policy is a real lifesaver when it comes to replacing sunbed acrylics. A sunbed acrylic can break at any time due to negligence, unless you have a rainy day fund or insurance you may find it hard to stump up £1,000 to have your sunbed acrylic replaced. We suggest you ensure you have a way to replace the acrylic to prevent downtime. Over time sunbed acrylics can get heat fissures, this is quite normal and appears as a frosting effect in the acrylic, your sunbed acrylic does not need replacing. Obviously, if a crack appears then yes, the sunbed Perspex would need to be replaced.
Always buy your sunbed acrylic from a reputable company, and please remember when you buy a sunbed acrylic you only get the acrylic. All vents, locks, etc must be transferred from your old acrylic to your new one. When base acrylics are a simple one-person job. A sunbed canopy acrylic can take several hours depending on the make so don’t think it is a 5 min job to change a sunbed acrylic. The best practice is to always check your acrylics each day and after each client, always keep them clean, every 2 weeks lower the canopy acrylic and clean it thoroughly. Do the same with the base, lift the base acrylic and clean the underneath as acrylics produce a film of dust over a couple of weeks and this can affect the UV output by up to 20% so always keep your acrylics clean and in tip top condition.
What is a bespoke acrylic? A bespoke acrylic is a sunbed acrylic that has been adapted to fit your sunbed, for instance, an original Ergoline acrylic for a 400 inspiration would cost £100’s of pounds and would arrive with a body mould contour manufactured into the acrylic.
However, a bespoke acrylic can be obtained without the body mould contour so, in essence, a flat acrylic, including all the fixtures and fittings but at a fraction of the price. Body contour sunbed Perspex’s do not tan you any more than a flat one. The body contour is only there for comfort only it does absolutely nothing for your tan that a flat acrylic wouldn’t do. It would save you considerable cost.
The most asked question is, are copy acrylics any good? Well obviously, they’re not as good as the original sunbed acrylic. It depends on where you purchase the copy acrylic from and the difference in how much UV light can pass through the sunbed acrylic. We have seen in our time, really poor quality copy acrylics where the UV light only allows through 50% of what would be expected. A good copy acrylic should allow 95% UV light through.
What are the advantages of purchasing a copy acrylic? Well, in the current climate, it is the cost. The sunbed acrylic is the most expensive part of a sunbed and it’s something that you must have to operate the machine. Many salon owners don’t realise the true cost of replacing a sunbed acrylic until it breaks, then they realise they do not have the funds to replace it. This is the main reason salon owners use copy acrylics. Another reason salon owners obtain copy sunbed acrylics is the availability. Usually, the waiting time for a genuine sunbed Perspex can take 6-8 weeks depending on the supplier. A copy sunbed acrylic is most readily available. Please be aware that if you replace your sunbed acrylic always ask if it is a copy, as when it’s fitted and if it’s a poor copy, then the tanning effect will be less for your clients. Salon owners will contact their tanning lamp supplier claiming the lamps are not tanning when it is the copy acrylic causing the issue. Having a copy acrylic is not a bad thing, but for peace of mind ask for a confirmation in writing that the acrylic you are getting will allow over 90% of UV light through. It is easy to verify by the UV levels measuring your lamps with a UV meter.
If you would like more information about buying acrylics for your sunbeds, then just call 0151 924 6344 and we would be delighted to help you.
