Another question about making windshield...

Hi, i'm trying to make a new rear windshield for a RX7, because the stock one is too thick. I remember seeing some pics of the process, so i made a mold with eposy putty, sanded it smooth, but when i heat the clear styrene, it don't take the curves of the mold, and if i heat more, it "collapse" on itself. What thickness of styrene would you recommend, or maybe another material, i saw a squadron product while searching about that, but evergreen clear styrene is more easy to get, and i don't want to make an order just for a small piece of thermaform.

Thanks for the advices guys.

Hi, i'm trying to make a new rear windshield for a RX7, because the stock one is too thick. I remember seeing some pics of the process, so i made a mold with eposy putty, sanded it smooth, but when i heat the clear styrene, it don't take the curves of the mold, and if i heat more, it "collapse" on itself. What thickness of styrene would you recommend, or maybe another material, i saw a squadron product while searching about that, but evergreen clear styrene is more easy to get, and i don't want to make an order just for a small piece of thermaform.

Thanks for the advices guys.

Same here, I've made the epoxy former, just curious as to what the best thickness of styrene is.

Cheers

Farrokh

Clear styrene is hard to thermaform (some people say it is possible, but the heating temperature is critical). Why not use a packaging leftover, lots of products are sold in a thermaformed package with a cardboard backing that slides off. The plastic is usually slightly too thick, but it is certainly the cheapest source of thermaforming material.

does anyone have a link to this method? I've got some projects that are going to require me to make windshields

does anyone have a link to this method? I've got some projects that are going to require me to make windshields

Here you go..

http://www5.ocn.ne.jp/~mokeden/kousaku/bellett/bellett-2.htm


You'll have to Babelfish it though cos its in Japanese. But I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Cheers

Farrokh

oh so you make a mold of the existing window.....bummer. lol. what if you need to make a window from scratch...any ideas?

I hate to rain on your parade, but you're likely never going to get satisfaction w/a homemade rear window as complex as the RX7's without a professional (or well-made home version) vacuum forming setup (the example of the Isuzu Bellet is a much, much easier windshield to mold). Simply draping warm butyrate (not styrene) might work on lenses or much simpler windscreens, but not on a rear windshield w/as much draw and shape as the RX7. You must make some sort of base, have some sort of method to draw a vacuum to pull the plastic over the form. Otherwise you'll just be wasting your time and plastic IMHO.

Well, kind of you can. What's missing in the example is another frame to hold the heated plastic sheet down. Get a thick styrene sheet (like 1.0 mm) and cut out an opening slightly larger than the cross section of the object, and use it to hold down the plastic tightly.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b258/hirofkd/550%20maranello/vacsetting.jpg

But even with this method, what you can't do is to make the roof of the FD3S or C5 Corvette, whose center part is concave, and a shape like that has to be vacuum formed.

Sand the windsheild down? :dunno:

Well, kind of you can. What's missing in the example is another frame to hold the heated plastic sheet down. Get a thick styrene sheet (like 1.0 mm) and cut out an opening slightly larger than the cross section of the object, and use it to hold down the plastic tightly.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b258/hirofkd/550%20maranello/vacsetting.jpg

But even with this method, what you can't do is to make the roof of the FD3S or C5 Corvette, whose center part is concave, and a shape like that has to be vacuum formed.


how did you know I was going to do a corvette? lol.

Thanks, i remember the tip about the packages, i'll try that, i'll end up making one good...hopefully !