jmwagner wrote:
> I don't know about vinyl... How well does it deal with sunlight? scratches?
> fleibility in the wind at speed? (there does have to be
> some structural intregrity there)
As I stated in a previous message, I used it to replace the windshield on a
bike I drove back in the early 70's. It was a bit more
flexible but stood up well to air pressure from the front and didn't have any
particular problem with scratches. Bear in mind that
those tear-offs for helmet screens are typically made out of vinyl (only much
thinner). Obviously, the thicker it is the more rigid it
becomes.
>
> Don't get me wrong... I'm not saying you don't have valid points... and maybe
>vinyl is the way to go... I just thought you were a little
> biased about Plex... as your wording and examples were, I felt,
>misleading... to those that may not have experience with the material.
No, not biased per se, I used to also bend my own windscreens back in the 60's.
But these were not the compound curved type that I see
today. The method we used for bending was to make a cardboard pattern that
when bent fit the curvature of the area to be covered, and
then bring a big tub of water to almost a boil. The precut plexi was dipped
into the water until it became pliable and then bent to
the correct shape. It was a bit of Trial and Error and not unusual to get one
good one out of 4 or 5 tries.
They were attached using metal angle brackets that are shock mounted using
rubber bushings. This kept the vibration and flexing of the
car from stressing the Plexiglas. It worked well and I don't recall that we
ever had one break. But I like the newer compound curved
ones I see lately. My concern is that I have seen entirely too many of them
that are broken or cracked. At a hundred and fifty bucks
a pop, I want to ensure that I won't be replacing it really soon.
Regards,
Joe
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