How to cut plastic at home. How and how to cut PVC panels? Choose a tool and learn to cut plastic correctly. What are they manufactured from

The PVC panel is one of the most popular materials for the interior decoration. Its use in the interior attracts not only appearance, but also affordable price, simplicity in maintenance and installation. Thanks to the characteristics listed, many people prefer the PVC panels, and not the cafes, when finishing personal hygiene rooms.

Features of the material

PVC panels are one of the modern types of finishing material, which is manufactured by the extrusion method and is used both in the bathroom and in the living room. The main raw material in the production of such products is the polyvinyl chloride, which is filled with a foundry. In order for the panels to give the desired color, their composition adds a certain amount of crushed natural chalk.

The decoration of PVC panels can be carried out in one of the following ways:

staining;
thermochet;
offset printing.

Thermal printing is applied to the plastic surface using a special preheated to high roller temperatures, which presses the film to the surface of the product. Thanks to this technology, it is possible to quickly and clearly apply the drawing without losing the brightness of the image. The same panel does not need an additional lacquer coating. Offset printing is applied much less often, which is associated with its high cost.

Selection of tools for cutting

In the process of installing such a finishing material at home, users face a small problem: the panels sold in construction stores have a length of 3 meters, and the height of the ceilings in most panel houses is 2.5 meters.

Specialists in carrying out repair work, which are in their professional activities to carry out the installation of PVC panels, know a lot of secrets relative to the correct cutting of plastic materials along and across. After analyzing them, every owner who wants to independently make repairs will be able to pick up the most suitable professional tool for him or take advantage of the infirous means.

Selecting the panel cutting method usually depends on the tasks and the masters' capabilities. Below are the types of cutting materials.

Cutter

Most experienced specialists whose tools have a wide variety and are intended for high-quality plastic processing, prefer to cut PVC panels with a special cutter. Due to it, a smooth slice is created on a plastic surface without much effort, characterized by the absence of jar and chipping. The cutter is sold in almost every construction store and has a fairly affordable price.

If necessary, this tool can be independently made from undergraduate tools, for which it suffices to adhere to the following recommendations:

it is necessary to prepare a metal strip, the thickness of which is at least 2 mm, and the width is 1 cm;
then it is necessary to cut one of the edges of the blank at an angle of 45 degrees;
it is necessary to sharpen the edge of the self-made product, using a grinding stone;
the opposite direction should be wrapped with a tape, which will allow to protect your hand from damage during the work.

The professional cutter for plastic has a relatively low cost, so its acquisition can serve as a profitable investment, because thanks to this instrument, the process of cutting PVC panels becomes not only more convenient, but also quite quick.

Hacksaw

One of the universal fixtures for cutting any material is a hacksaw, which will certainly be found in the arsenal of any wizard. It is she who will help if necessary to cut a plastic wall panel. Such work will take more time than when using a special cutter, however, with significant volumes of cladding, it will not significantly affect the total repair duration.

When using hacksaw, it is worth listening to the following recommendations of specialists:

to work with plastic finishing materials, use a tool with small teeth, which is usually designed to work with the metal or wood;
to shorten the PVC panel, there is no need to apply strong physical efforts, which can damage material;
you can cut several parts with a hacksaw at once by folding them with a stack and consolidating to avoid a deflection or offset.

In order for the cut did not get jugged, it is not recommended to use a tool with teeth divorced into different directions.

Power tools

For the rapid sawing of PVC panels, the power tool is best suited. For this purpose, you can use almost any device, which will help significantly reduce the time spent on the preparation for installation.

Often, cutting is performed using the following instruments:

electrolovka;
bulgarian;
circular.

To work with plastic material, it is allowed to use only low revolutions, because with a substantial heating, it begins to melt and highlight toxic evaporation for the human body, and the incision in this case will turn out to be torn.

The use of an electrolybiz will help make the process of preparing the PVC panels to the installation substantially faster than in the case of manual instrument.

However, with such a processing method, the following nuances should be taken into account:

even before work, it is necessary to turn off the pendulum;
it should be applied to the pylon with the maximum in small cloth;
it is necessary to establish the smallest movement speed of the peel, which will avoid excessive heating of the plastic in the scenes.

With the help of the electroballs, it is very convenient to cut the stacks of panels, but it is necessary to ensure that their height does not exceed the length of the pink set into the tool.

Bulgarian is recognized as the most convenient and practical power tools.With which you can cut the wall PVC panels. By installing a cut disc, not only straight, but also curly cuts on the surface of plastic. When processing plastic circle, it turns on only on low revs, which will avoid damage to the material due to melting edges.

Knife

In the absence of more practical and convenient tools, the PVC can be cut with a knife.

To solve such a task, the following types of cutting products will be suitable:

Kitchen knife.This tool is suitable for cutting several panels during their repair or replacement. For large-scale wall decoration, such a procedure is excessively long and painful.
Construction knife. Among the manual cutting tool, such a device is one of the optimal options to achieve a smooth cut with applying relatively small efforts.
Stationery knife.With the help of a wooden ruler or a square, this tool allows you to achieve perfectly smooth panel cuts, so it is often used to cut them.

Basic rules cutting

So that efforts on cutting PVC panels do not disappear, and the result of the work has justified expectations, experts recommend to adhere to a number of rules for working with plastic. These small secrets will help not only significantly reduce the number of spoiled material, but also keeps the wizard from unnecessary financial spending and injuries.

When carrying out work in the heated season, you should not start cutting panelswhich were recently listed. Plastic should be naturally warm to room temperature, which is achieved at least 12 hours. The fact is that at low temperatures, the plastic panel becomes fragile, and therefore it can crack and rolled in large fragments.

Regardless of the selected method of processing the material, it should be positioned by the face to himself, which will avoid deformation of the panel and difficulties in its further installation. When cut from the wrong side, you can detect microcracks on the front part, which will manifest itself with time and will significantly spoil the interior.

It is necessary to post a direct line of the planned cut, which can be done with the help of a simple pencil and the stationery.

PVC panels - modern finishing material, successfully and deservedly conquered popularity in the field of interior decoration. Attract buyers with their price, simplicity in maintenance, stylish appearance, and most importantly - simple installation technology that can be performed independently. Many prefer their cafes with bathrooms and toilets.

Choose the right tool for cutting plastic panels.

The only problem with which the user faces during installation is the standard length of the panels is 3 meters, despite the fact that the height of the ceilings in the panel houses is usually about 2.5 meters. And then the question arises - how and how to cut a PVC panel without damaging them? We will consider the answer to this question in the article.

What tool is suitable for cutting plastic panels?

In the arsenal of the masters of finishing works there are many ways to cut plastic. And everyone who is engaged in the repair independently can choose any of these methods, take advantage of a professional tool or appliant means, based on their needs and opportunities. Consider more all the pros and cons of each method:

Plastic cutter
Plastic cutter. Sale in any construction store. With it, you can make an absolutely smooth slice on the PVC panel, without applying special efforts. The only minus - it cuts only in a straight line, so it will not work rounded cuts. If desired, the cutter can be constructed independently - from a metal strip of about 1 cm wide and a thickness of 2 mm. One side will need to be sharpened at an angle of 45 degrees, the handle is cooled with a tape, so as not to cut your fingers during operation.
Hacksaw
Hacksaw. For plastic, a tool with small cloth will fit, note that the cloves on the blades are not divorced in different directions. So the slice will turn out to be smooth, smooth, plastic will not sprinkle. It is convenient to cut the hacksaw to cut several panels at once, folding them on each other in a pile.
Electropolitanzik. With it, the process of trimming panels will be much faster than with a hand tool. But there are some nuances of working with an electric lobby:
EllecombZik
1. You should immediately turn off the pendulum move.
2. Use a pet with small teeth.
3. Adjust the speed of the peel movement (select the smallest not to melted the cut).
The jigscription will perfectly cope with the task to cut the panels folded with a stack, the main thing is that the height of the stack does not exceed the length of the peel.
Bulgarian
Bulgarian. The most convenient tool for cutting PVC panels, with the help of a grinder with a cut-off disk, can be made both direct and curly cuts. It must be remembered that when cutting plastic, the tool should work at the lowest revs, otherwise the trimmed edge will melt, and the panel will be corrupted.
Knife
Knife. In the absence of a more convenient tool, you can use simple kitchen or stationery knife. What will already be a knife blade, the easier it will be the process of cutting. The bread knife with a served blade is ideal, it leaves a smooth edge without bugs and grinding.

How to cut a PVC panel?

When cutting, place the front panel

To successfully cope with the task, you should know some secrets of plastic cutting. This will significantly reduce the number of discarded and spoiled panels, and keeps the novice master from excessive spending time, money, and above all - from injuries.

If you are conducting finishing work in the cold season, do not cut the panels that have just been brought from the street. Give them to warm up to room temperature. The best option is to spend at room temperature at least 1 night. Otherwise, plastic, which becomes fragile in the cold, will rush in large pieces, cracks can go along the entire length of the panel.
Regardless of what kind of cutting method you have chosen, the panels are facial side up (photo above), otherwise the panel can deform and install it will cause difficulties. In addition, if you do an incision from the wrong side, the front side can be covered with microcracks, which will manifest themselves only with time, finally spoiling the design. It will not be superfluous to post the cut line in advance, for this simple pencil or felt-tip pen (which is easy to erase from the surface after the end of the work) and the student line.
To cut several PVC panels at the same time, you need to fold them with a stack and make a two-point support for this stack so that the panels do not resist. It is still worth the opposite edge of the stack into the wall, otherwise during the cutting panel will be shifted and the details of different lengths will turn out.

Safety technique

Do not forget about safety technician!

When cutting plastic panels, especially with the help of an electric tool (jigsaw or grinder), the likelihoods and fragments will fly away from the material. Therefore, it is necessary to purchase safety glasses and gloves in advance that will be removed from injuries, and it is recommended not to remove them until the end of work.

Regardless how tools you decide to use, the above tips will help you avoid mistakes of most inexperienced finishers and create a cozy interior that will please for many years.

Video instruction

And what do you prefer to cut plastic panels?

When working with wood or metal, as a rule, there are no questions with an accurate and high-quality cutting. It is quite another case polymeric materials. Acrylic or polycarbonate, due to its physical properties, require a special approach to processing. These modern materials can melt at the point of contact with the cutting tool, scratch, and split. In this regard, there are often cases when even the easiest cut looks inactively or leads to irreparable damage the details. We have prepared a description of the three most effective ways of cutting plastic, which are suitable for material of different types, quality and thickness.

If there is a need to cut a sheet polycarbonate or acrylic plastic, the thickness of which is 2-3 mm, then the best tool for this work will be a conventional mounting knife with replaceable blades used for cutting drywall. It is better to perform work on a solid flat surface, fixing the sheet on it with clamps. An accurate markup plays an important role in cutting plastic. Do not forget that in case of mistake, it will be impossible to correct the marriage of the material to be spoiled. Along the line on which the sheet is planned to be divided, a metal line or profile is placed along which several passes are made by the mounting knife. Cut plastic needs slowly, but confidently, watching the blade does not go to the side and immersed in the polymer on the same depth all over the cut.

After a sufficiently deep groove is obtained, a temptation appears to break the sheet along this line, as they do with glass. Such a solution often leads to undesirable consequences, for example, the appearance of trappers or cracks. To complete the cutting process, turn the plastic, secure on the table again and, applying a ruler to the well-visible line, repeat the knife on the back side. After that, you can remove the clamp, move the sheet to the edge of the table and gently break down the sliced \u200b\u200bpart with your hands.

How to cut thick sheets of plastic

The cutting of polycarbonate and acrylic sheets, the thickness of which exceeds 20 mm, is performed using electrical instruments. Circular saws are best suited for these purposes. To accomplish such a job, you will have to go to the store and purchase a special saw blade, designed to work with plastic. From wood discs and stone, it is distinguished by a small thick and smaller teeth of a special form. In no case cannot be used in the work disks intended for other materials, since the damage of the material in this case will be inevitable. Wood saws have too large teeth, located at a large distance. The sawing of acrylic or polycarbonate such a disk will result in the formation of ribbon edges of the cut and even to the melting of the polymer.

As well as with manual cutting, before sawing the sheet on a circular saw, it needs to be accurately placed. The line is best to carry out a permanent marker, the line of which is clearly visible and has sufficient resistance to erasure. Before starting work, plastic also needs to fasten well. The polymer sheets also cut as Faneru, with the difference that when cutting a considerable extent, it is better to make pauses so that the disc is cooled and did not smell the edge of the cut.

Cuts of complex shape

When working with plastic, it is often necessary to perform curvilinear cuts. With thin sheets you can use a mounting knife, but if the polymer thickness exceeds 10 mm, then it is better to use an electric jigsaw. Manufacturers produce saw blades designed specifically to work with acrylic or polycarbonate having a special form of teeth and non-standard tilt. When working with plastic, a thickness of a share of 20 mm is allowed to use sawing cauldons for wood with the smallest teeth. In this case, you need to set the minimum number of engine speeds, otherwise, with cutting, the material will start melting.

No matter how hard you try, get the perfect edge at the point of the cut, most likely it will not work. Therefore, after completing the work, it is necessary to handle ends with emery paper or grinding bars. Experts recommend to apply large abrasives at the beginning of grinding, gradually moving to a thinner. If you show the maximum accuracy and patience, the edge at the scene will be perfectly even and will not deliver the trouble even with an accurate docking of the elements.

Separately, you need to mention the safety technique when performing such works. Cutting plastic must be performed on a stable workbench or desk, a good tool. It is also necessary to take care of eye protection with glasses, as some types of polymers with cutting can form fragments flying to a considerable distance.

Useful advice