How to Cut Pvc Panels Across

Pvc panel is one of the most popular materials for interior decoration. Its use in the interior attracts not only with its appearance, but also with an affordable price, ease of maintenance and installation. Due to these characteristics, many people prefer PVC panels rather than tiles when decorating personal hygiene rooms.

Material Features

Pvc panels are one of the modern types of finishing material, which is made by extrusion and is used both in the bathroom and in the living room. The main raw material in the production of such products is polyvinyl chloride, which fills the mold. So that the panels can be given the desired color, a certain amount of ground natural chalk is added to their composition.

Pvc panels can be decorated in one of the following ways:

  • Staining;
  • Thermal printing;
  • Offset printing.

Thermal printing is applied to the plastic surface using a special roller heated to high temperatures, which presses the film to the surface of the product. Thanks to this technology, quick and clear drawing is possible without loss of image brightness. The panel itself does not need additional varnish coating. Offset printing is used much less frequently due to its high cost.

Choosing a Cutting Tool

Repair specialists who have to install PVC panels in their professional activities know a lot of secrets regarding the correct cutting of plastic materials up and down. After analyzing them, each owner who wants to make repairs on his own will be able to choose the most suitable professional tool for him or take advantage of improvised tools.

The choice of method for cutting panels usually depends on the tasks and capabilities of the wizard. Below are the types of cutting materials.

Cutter

If necessary, this tool can be independently made from improvised means, for which it is enough 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 you should trim one of the edges of the workpiece at an angle of 45 degrees;
  • It is necessary to sharpen the edge of a home-made product using a grindstone;
  • The opposite side should be wrapped with electrical tape, which will allow to protect the hand from damage during operation.

A professional cutter for plastic has a relatively low cost, so its purchase can serve as a profitable investment, because thanks to such a tool, the process of cutting PVC panels becomes not only more convenient, but also quite fast.

Hacksaw

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

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

  • For work with plastic finishing materials, use a tool with small teeth, which is usually designed to work with metal or wood;
  • To shorten the PVC panel there is no need to apply strong physical forces, which can lead to damage to the material;
  • You can cut several parts at once with a hacksaw, stacking them in a pile and securing them to avoid deflection or displacement.

How to Cut Pvc Panels Across

How to Cut Pvc Panels Across

To prevent the incision from becoming jagged, it is not recommended to use a tool with teeth apart in different directions.

Power tool

The power tool at hand is best suited for sawing PVC panels. For this purpose, you can use almost any device, which will help to significantly reduce the time spent on preparing for installation.

Often cutting is performed using the following instruments:

To work with plastic material, only low revolutions are allowed, because with significant heating it begins to melt and emit fumes toxic to the human body, and in this case the cut will be torn.

Using a jigsaw will help make the process of preparing PVC panels for installation significantly faster than with a hand tool.

However, with this method of processing, the following nuances must be taken into account:

  • Before starting work, it is necessary to turn off the swingarm;
  • You should use a file with the smallest teeth;
  • You need to set the lowest speed of the file, which will avoid excessive heating of the plastic in the place of cut.

Using a jigsaw it is very convenient to cut stacks of panels, but make sure that their height does not exceed the length of the saw set in the tool.

Angle grinder recognized as the most convenient and practical power tool, with which you can cut wall PVC panels. By installing a cutting disc, you can make not only straight, but also curly cuts on the surface of the plastic. When processing plastic around the angle grinder, it is turned on only at low speeds, which will avoid damage to the material due to melting edges.

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

To solve this problem, the following types of cutting products are suitable:

  • Kitchen knife. This tool is suitable for cutting several panels during repair or replacement. For large-scale wall decoration, such a procedure is unnecessarily lengthy and painful.
  • Construction knife. Among the manual cutting tool, such a device is one of the best options for achieving a smooth cut with a relatively small effort.
  • Stationery knife. Using a wooden ruler or a square, this tool allows you to achieve a perfectly even cut of the panel, so it is often used to cut them.

Basic cutting rules

So that efforts to cut PVC panels are not wasted, and the result of the work met expectations, experts recommend adhering to a number of rules for working with plastic. These little secrets will help not only to significantly reduce the amount of spoiled material, but also save the master from unnecessary financial expenses and injuries.

When carrying out work in the heated season, do not start cutting panels, which have recently been brought into the room. Plastic should naturally warm to room temperature, which is achieved in at least 12 hours. The fact is that at low temperatures the plastic panel becomes brittle, and therefore can crack and break off in large fragments.

Regardless of the selected method of processing the material, it should be placed face to you, which will avoid deformation of the panel and difficulties during its further installation. When the cut is from the wrong side, microcracks can be detected on the front part, which will manifest itself over time and significantly spoil the interior.

It is necessary to mark in advance a straight line of the planned section, which can be done with a simple pencil and a clerical ruler.

To speed up the process of preparing the material for installation work, you can cut or saw several PVC panels at the same time. To do this, just stack them in a pile and create a two-point support. The opposite edge of the stack is best placed against the wall, which will help to avoid product shear, respectively, resulting in parts of the same length.

Safety regulations

Like working with any building materials, processing PVC panels requires compliance with several safety rules. These recommendations are especially relevant if you plan to work with a tool connected to the mains power supply, for example, a jigsaw or an angle grinder. In the case of cutting plastic with a power tool, there is a danger that fragments and sawdust can fly off the panels. Therefore, experts recommend purchasing safety glasses and gloves in advance, which should not be removed before the end of work. These seemingly simple personal protective equipment will help protect hands and eyes from injuries.

These tips should help you decide which tool to use., as well as creating the interior of your own dreams and avoiding most mistakes, because with a little effort you can achieve the desired result, saving a considerable amount of money.

How to easily and clearly cut the plastic panel is described in the.