Guest Anonymous Posted August 14, 2001 Share Posted August 14, 2001 Since the car is completely stripped of paint and I am in the process of doing several body mods (homemade rear spoiler, hood vents, bumper delete, emblem delete, custom radiator opening and grill, etc...) I was toying with the idea of putting in Lexan rear hatch and rear side windows for reduced weight and breakability. Any ideas as to advantages/disadvantages of doing this? I noticed Jim Biondo's car has all Lexan or Plexi windows except for the windshield. I would think that Lexan would be harder to break into than glass, would have reduced weight, and might be safer. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted August 14, 2001 Share Posted August 14, 2001 Don't think it'll be safer. when it does break I doubt the shards would be as gentle as "safety glass". Plus Lexan will probably scratch more readily. Lastly, UV will probably cloud it or make it brittle over time. I'd certainly talk to some racers who are running this stuff and make sure that what you buy is tried and true over time. I have no dooubt that in the short run it'll be great but you may find that once it's seen some weather and time that it will need replacing more often than you'd like. Me, I'll stick to glass and not sweat the few lbs I'd save. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted August 14, 2001 Share Posted August 14, 2001 Terry how did you shape the rear window ??? and what was the cost... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie-GNZ Posted August 14, 2001 Share Posted August 14, 2001 Terry, I am very interested in any info you can provide on putting Lexan in the rear hatch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 15, 2001 Share Posted August 15, 2001 here is a like on blowing lexan you might be interesed in www.wisil.recumbents.com/bubbles/hpvbubbles.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted August 15, 2001 Share Posted August 15, 2001 Lexan is a lot more forgiving than the Plexiglass cousin. Lexan will bend and rebound where Plexiglass will shatter. I use the Lexan in both side windows and rear hatch window. I even saw someone on a race Z make the entire hatch out of Lexan, and then painted it the color of the car leaving a clear rectangular place to be his rear window unpainted. It will permanently bend in a sheet metal break to about 80 degrees without breaking (will leave a milky white line at the bend), and will conform to slight compound curves, as did the sheet I used on my rear hatch, without heating. Yes, it does scratch easily, and yellowing in the UV environment may happen, but I got a slightly grey tint in my sheet, and the yellowing has never appeared, or at least it is not as noticeable if it has happened. Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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