Benefits Of Glass
There are many reasons as to why I work with glass and mirror instead of acrylic. First of all is that acrylic is what it is… plastic. It may look nice when you first get it, but the moment you dust it, you will get very fine scratches from the dust particles and even the slightest bit of light will make these scratches visible. Over time these scratches build up, and within a year or two, you’ll end up wanting to replace it. Glass on the other hand is very tough. You can spill something on glass and remove it with a course washing up cloth or sponge and it will not damage the glass. If looked after properly, you should never need to replace it.
Durability
For commercial displays and larger private collector displays, I always use toughened glass. Toughened glass is extremely strong and safe. It takes a lot of force to break toughened glass, but if it does break, it breaks safely and into lots of tiny pieces.
U.V.
A lot of people may have heard that acrylic filters out U.V. and glass doesn’t. Actually, both acrylic and glass filter out about 95% of U.V. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that the item inside won’t fade. U.V. is not the only type of light, and others will get through which could cause an item to fade over time. If the item is exposed to any form of light, over time, it could fade. Glass however will stay clear. Exposure to U.V. will eventually cause acrylic to turn opaque and become brittle.