How to make a windshield

62 wood wrote: One of our vendors has an oven to thermal-form solid surface material. not sure its big enough tho.

25" plus the splash. Should be big enough to do one end at a time!

62 wood wrote: What did the company use for a buck to heat form your windshield? Any idea what temp is required?

I feel there's going to be a project going to make the buck!!! Over radius the buck slightly to allow for some spring back.

For large curve bending, I've seen quartz IR heaters used by the plastics fabricators. Experiment on scrap and time the heat up.

The Lexan never worked out. The company that sold it to me heat formed an acrylic windshield for me for a few bucks extra. Although it did not turn out as well as I would like, it looks just fine. That really wasn't their expertise. Still was around $300 less than one place quoted for doing it.

I'm disappointing in the Lexan. It was easy, cheap and looked great. According to the shop, Lexan won't bend that much without forming stress cracks. At least that's what they say. I'm not to sure about them now, they knew exactly what I was doing and recommended it for the project, twice.

Anyway, I'm glad I have acrylic now because I don't have to worry about it scratching like the Lexan.

vondy wrote: The beer in the pic is Shiner Bock from Shiner Texas. Sitting in a Czech Stop beer koozie. Czech Stop is a great little gas station in the town of West Texas south of Dallas before Waco. They have great kolaches, sausage, etc. It's pretty well known around here, people make it a point to stop in when they are passing through.

It's been ages since I've been to the Czech stop...I used to live around Dallas, and had a girlfriend in Austin. It's been ages since I had a Shiner too...
<snif>

I'm glad I asked, I was going to try and finish one before GL but I might just have to suck it up and use my original!

Now we can watch and see how you make the new, new, plexi windshield!

storm34 wrote: Hey vondy,     How is the new, new windshield holding up? Hopefully its going good and you've been out on the lake!

Actually the windshield is not holding up to well at all. Once again it's getting the "stress" cracks in the bends. Not sure if the material is bad, or if it just can't handle the stress. It might be a combination of the stress and heat from the boat sitting covered in the sun.

I have to say I'm surprised, Lexan is supposed to be so unbreakable but apparently it is crackable.

I think I'm going to call the plastic company today and see if they will give me a sheet of Plexi. I would have to form it with heat, but I can continue to use my Lexan one while I slowly work on the plexi. That is as long as they keep replacing for free, since they are the ones recommending the material.

The good thing is, even with the cracks in the corners, the front is still nice and clear, way better than the original.

Yes we have been on the lake twice this year. Bringing the boat up to my brothers in Hot Springs Arkansas at the end of the month for two weeks. Can't wait. Those lakes are so much nicer and calmer than our Texas ones. The Mustang takes a beating around here.

Update on the windshield...

Word of caution. Don't us Lexan XL. Use the regular XL without the UV coating.

Apparently the UV coating can not deal with the pressure the curve puts on it. Mine started to "craze" or "crackle" in the bends. If you only have minimal bends it probably doesn't matter.

The company I bought mine from replaced it since they are the ones that told me this was the sheet I needed.

Luckily the Lexan flattens back out and I used it as a template to trace the new one, drill holes and all.

They say as long as you cover the boat and don't leave the windshield in the sun, the regular Lexan should last 10+ years before yellowing.

Should have the new, new one on tonight or tomorrow.

They also gave me a polishing type product that is used to build up a layer that will reduce scratching, smudges, and fog.

I'll let y'all know how that turns out.

Nice Job!


mmmmm... Shiner Bock.....

Thanks again everyone. I was also a little concerned with how it would look without the compound curve. Doesn't bother me a bit.

It was a little tough to bend the 3/16", 1/8" would probably be much easier. I also wasn't sure how 1/8 would fit in the frame so I stuck with the 3/16". I did read somewhere that someone made theirs out of 1/8", not CC.

The beer in the pic is Shiner Bock from Shiner Texas. Sitting in a Czech Stop beer koozie. Czech Stop is a great little gas station in the town of West Texas south of Dallas before Waco. They have great kolaches, sausage, etc. It's pretty well known around here, people make it a point to stop in when they are passing through.

AWESOME!!!!! I will be making one in the near future!!

Wow looks great. Looking forward to hear how it holds up.

Beautiful after shot , David.

That's amazing Vondy. Your boat is looking great.

Great tech post. We ought to have a section for stuff like this so it's easier to find.

Gret job on the windshield. the boat overall is really coming along, lots of hard work but it shows.

Thanks Gary.

Mike, it really didn't take long at all. I did it over the course of a few days so hard to say. Probably in the range of 4-6 hours, taking my time.

This and the polish have made such a dramatic difference in the look of the boat. And it took mostly elbow grease.

Here's a before and after.
Notice my bow stop solution for getting more tongue weight. Still need to Ubolt the winch.