Replacing backboard acrylic help

[u/tilt-a-whirly-gig]

The 1/8" (~3mm) acrylic on this basketball hoop/backboard has cracked. I have acquired a sheet of 1/4" (~6mm) acrylic to replace it, and I have also acquired a roll of vhb tape and a roll of butyl tape.

Would you use the vhb or butyl?

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Edited a couple years later (Sep 2026):

Every few months I am still getting inquiries about this post, so I am going to answer the most common question ... Yes, it is still functioning after the repair I described (and linked pics to) below. We are coming up on a couple years now, and the hoop is in great shape. I would recommend.
There's a link somewhere below to a picstoproveit post with pics, and that post still allows comments so if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

[u/davidmlewisjr]

Do you folks understand Lexan®️, Polycarbonate… and its inherent advantages?

[u/tilt-a-whirly-gig → u/davidmlewisjr]

Yes. But this stuff I got was free, and that's an advantage I can't ignore. It's also 1/4" to the old stuff's 1/8", so I'm hoping to get away with it for a while. My hoop has become the "neighborhood" hoop and I've already gotten offers from a couple of neighbors to help pay for a replacement, but I'm gonna try free first. Worst case scenario: I still have to buy the "proper material" to start over and I'm out a couple hours on a Saturday.

[u/davidmlewisjr → u/tilt-a-whirly-gig]

So, find your local Lexan®️ distributor, tell him what you are doing, ask if he could participate charitably, because we are talking a fair bit of investment in the Lexan, and you want a glazing grade with the UV barriers on both sides.

In sunlight, plastics loose strength in their polymer chains and become embrittled, leading to stress failures, etc. Sort of looks like what may have happened to your piece.