Side windows, screwless mount

[40 Bud]

Thanks for the details Ian. It looks like a very light tinted polycarbonate is the only choice. Now if I can find someone to form it at a reasonable price, I will be off and running. I have been told that, unfortunately, Forming poly with the scratch resistant coating can sometimes cause crazing.

 

[Ian Anderson]

Try the home tint method

I've heard (elsewhere on this forum) that if you take the perspex / lexan and put it in a bath of fabric dye (remember the tie dye stuff) and leave it for a few minutes it takes up the dye colour.

Do a test for colour saturation / time taken to get to desired colour on an offcut first as the process does not reverse.

Ian

 

[Randy V]

Try the home tint method

I've heard (elsewhere on this forum) that if you take the perspex / lexan and put it in a bath of fabric dye (remember the tie dye stuff) and leave it for a few minutes it takes up the dye colour.

Do a test for colour saturation / time taken to get to desired colour on an offcut first as the process does not reverse.

Ian

How interesting.... I'd not heard about the use of fabric dye like this but evidently it's now a patented process that's explained pretty well right here;

Method of tinting polycarbonate-polyester copolymers - Patent 5443597

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Bud,

We tested some "stick in" windows and although the bond was good , it was better before we hard coated the interior surface of the window....

 

[Mike]

As Fran has stated. There are many things you can do to poly to get it to do what you need......but it will get expensive. A windshield for one of our race cars costs about $400 once the anti fog and hard surface materials are applied.

 

[monty]

Hi all,
I would also prefer to use polycarbonate rather than other plastics for all windows exept the windscreen. Window spares around this part of the world are expensive, scarce and made from either perspex or plexiglass and of which I have a few broken examples. Can anybody please enligthen me on how to form polycarbonate sucessfully? I attempted researching on the net with no success, probably because of dim wits on my side.

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

I think I would just buy sunglasses, myself. No offense. Like the ones in that ZZTop song..."glasses so dark, they don't even know your name".

 

[Lloyd]

good look but what happens when you have to take the window out or just replace it


LLoyd

 

[Randy V]

Hi all,
I would also prefer to use polycarbonate rather than other plastics for all windows exept the windscreen. Window spares around this part of the world are expensive, scarce and made from either perspex or plexiglass and of which I have a few broken examples. Can anybody please enligthen me on how to form polycarbonate sucessfully? I attempted researching on the net with no success, probably because of dim wits on my side.

Monty - you can bend or form lexan by heating it and then applying it to a form and clamping it. You can force cool it with water or let it air cool (would be my preference) and it will retain it's shape.

Amount of heat - seems to vary by the sources I've found. between 300 and 350 degrees F should do it.

I would try it on a test piece first using a heat gun and laser temp meter.

You can "fold" it with relatively good success in a sheet metal brake providing that the radius is not less than the thickness of the material plus a little for margin.

Hope this helps!