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Author: Subject: What thickness material for aeroscreen
Trev Borg

posted on 28/3/10 at 09:54 PM Reply With Quote
What thickness material for aeroscreen

Read lots of posts, and my eyes are starting to hurt now.

Simple questions really.

Going to make and aero screen for my MGF (windscreen already chopped off, with two stumpy supports left)

I was thinking of using 4mm Lexan.

Is this the correct stuff to use?

What thickness do i need?

Can I bend it easily enough, as it has to follow the original shape?

What would I pay for a sheet 1500mm by 400mm?





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By that time, who cares.

You're a mile away, and you've got his shoes

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prawnabie

posted on 28/3/10 at 09:54 PM Reply With Quote
Try bay plastics on tinterweb i have had good service in the past
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austin man

posted on 28/3/10 at 10:03 PM Reply With Quote
use a hot air gun to warm it to allow easy bending of the plastic. Dont get too close as it will blister the plastic





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matt_gsxr

posted on 28/3/10 at 11:50 PM Reply With Quote
4mm lexan is the stuff to use. If you can get UV proof then all the better.

It bends fine for radius if curvature down to 100x the thickness (i.e. 40cm in the case of 4mm thick). Although I have managed a little bit tighter than this on mine and it seems fine.

Heat forming is what they do professionally, but to do this properly it first needs drying as otherwise small pockets of steam form within the material making it go cloudy or blister. Drying at home is not feasible (many hours at 90deg).

Google for Lexan_fabrication_guide.pdf it is a nice material to work with.


Matt

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Bluemoon

posted on 29/3/10 at 11:12 AM Reply With Quote
second bay plastics, got some from them recently (for side screens).

Dan

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Trev Borg

posted on 29/3/10 at 06:51 PM Reply With Quote
Thanks for the replies

The stuff I found on fleabay was about £42 for the piece i needed.

A bloke at work can get it but only in 8 by 4 sheets.

£67 for 5mm polycarb, might come in handy if i knack a few

Can you get the stuff black ?





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You're a mile away, and you've got his shoes

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Trev Borg

posted on 13/7/10 at 10:26 PM Reply With Quote
Is perspex / acrylic any good?
or should it definitely be polycarb?

looking on ebay I can get

black acrylic 1500 x 500 x 3mm for £24

clear lexan 1220 x 500 x 3mm for £26

clear acrylic 1500 x 500 x 5mm for £27

clear lexan 1210 x 500 x 4mm for £37





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JF

posted on 14/7/10 at 04:36 PM Reply With Quote
If I remember correctly acrylic will shatter on impact... not something you want so close to your face.

Lexan is much tougher, so yeah you'll want to go with lexan.

Lexan can easely be painted with the appropriate paint. Modelshops selling RC cars usually have the stuff as it's used for RC car bodies. It's a dull paint witch sticks very well to lexan and stays flexible. Simply spray the inside and you get a lovely shiny finish.

Such a large area might need a few cans though... and they're not cheap.

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