Anyone ever made their own windshield?

I'm considering doing that and was wondering how hard it would be... right now I have the flexible front and rear ones for my Rhino, so I can ride these tight wooded trails without one. I carry them in a Rubbermaid container, just in case. I think that'll work fine for summer.

But, I'm thinking of making a windshield out of Lexan for wintertime use. How hard is it to drill or cut Lexan?

My UTV Concepts front tire carrier has a grab bar on it that sticks into the center of the cockpit on each side and goes in front of the instrument cluster. I'd need to trim the Lexan to fit around the 1" tube on each side of that hump in the middle of the dashboard. Then, of course I'd need to drill mounting holes.

I have a RotoZip -- do you think I could cut the 1/4" Lexan with that? It'll cut ceramic tiles and things like that, with the right bit...

KentT,
If it was me, IMO, I'd buy one of the cheap E-Bay ones and modify it myself. They have a bend in the top-edge to help with flex, and it does, that you could not replicate unless you have a brake and a torch. I've cut mine down several times with a Roto-Zip and a Dremel. The problem with that is the material melts behind you and is a mess to clean-up. The best thing i've found is a jig-saw with a fine-tooth metal cutting blade. Works great.

The voice of experience -- just what I was looking for! Thanks! :D

The only advise i can give is this.

I bought a cheep one from ebay and it lasted 3 rides
and it was so scratched i could not see Shit.....

it got thrown in the garbage. my advise is
pay for good quality poly carbanate glass
so it will last. i will buy a good one next time....

ChrisC wrote:

The only advise i can give is this.

I bought a cheep one from ebay and it lasted 3 rides
and it was so scratched i could not see Shit.....

it got thrown in the garbage. my advise is
pay for good quality poly carbanate glass
so it will last. i will buy a good one next time....

I was giving the cheap way out but Chris is right, even tho the E-bay ones claim to be Lexan. The best and only one to buy if you want longevity is the Yamaha one. My buddy has one thats 4 years old and still clear as glass, it won't scratch, you can cut it too......It is pricey tho.

Plexiglass is more scratch resistant and doesnt "cloud over" in time. Its cheaper too but lexan is easier to drill without cracking or chipping. Plexiglass will chip too. To avoid chipping and or cracking use some masking tape on both sides of the glass. Drilling into a 2x4 will also help to stop cracking and chipping. Step up your drill sizes to the final size. You can use a plexiglass drill bit of which the rake and angle are different from your standard twist drills.

http://cgi.ebay.com/drill-bit-for-lucite-plexiglass-acrylic-lexan-1-8_W0QQitemZ110384113255QQihZ001QQcategoryZ61795QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

For cutting its the same, use masking tape and some water to keep the glass from melting, and support with a 2x4 on both sides of the cut. If you are making a long cut you can use a skill saw and reverse the blade, (dont reverse a carbide tipped blade for this), and it will give you a good clean cut....dont forget the water and masking tape.
As far as bending the plexiglass its almost impossible to get any kind of decent look without "even heat" and a brake.

I have made two in the pass couple of years for a cost of about $60.00 each including mounting hardware. However I am a cheap bast--d and dont really care how it looks as looks as long as its functional.

Good luck!

The very best Money can buy is

Polycarbonate MR5 Marguard....

it is what we use in the race cars.
it will not scratch hardly ever. and you can clean it
with regular window cleaners. it will never fade or get milky.

But its very expensive......
Last sheet i bought was 4x8 , and its about
$400 a sheet...

Might be a little much for a Rhino windsheild....
But its good stuff....

But to be honist , if someone was going to
make it there self. it would not be bad.
I seen some good quality Rhino windsheilds go
for over $300. so it ant so bad.... :D

i've made a bunch, but i can get lexan real cheap. and i bend mine in a sheet metal break. it's hard to believe, but i bend it without heating it, works great. like said above, it does scratch easier.. but with only 8$ in clamps, and pretty much unlimited supply of lexan, and about an hour labor, i couldn't go wrong. if it scratches too bad, i'll cut a new one.. and it is 1/4 inch. But if you have to buy the lexan, it may be better to invest once..

I use to bend the stuff in a press break
all the time. it works great.....

My initial thoughts were to buy the Lexan (or Plexiglass) from a commercial glass store so I'd know for sure what I was getting. They'll make the rough cut to size (48x27 or whatever) for free, though they're likely more expensive than Lowes or HD to begin with.

Then, basically all I''d have to do is trim/shape it to go around the grab bar/instrument cluster, and drill the mounting holes. I may also have to shave off a little on the sides to clear the mounting brackets on the rollcage uprights. Here's some pics from the installation manual that show what this tire rack looks like, and what I'm dealing with. The one in the lower left shows the grabbar over the instrument cluster, and how it projects into the cockpit. I could even add brackets or clamps onto this grabbar to attach to the bottom of the windshield and help keep it from flexing. Plus I'm not opposed to putting a piece of metal or tubing across it at the top to make it more rigid, as long as it is up out of the line of sight. So, having someone put a bend in it at the top to make it stronger isn't a critical point for me.

Sorry, but these are the best pics I have of the tire rack.

I really like this tire rack, since it also seems to reinforce the rollcage while putting the spare totally out of the way (except for blocking your view a little). Also would help protect the whole front of the Rhino in the case of a rollover. I plan to eventually mount two driving lights on it similar to how some of you guys have them mounted on your cross-bar/light bar (or whatever its called), or up on the front where they'd be protected. Still thinking about that one... I''ve tried to illustrate this concept with the red circles in the top picture.

Plus, I kinda like the fact that it helps differentiate this thing from every other 450/660 Special Edition that I'd see on the trails..

Yeah, you gonna have to do some fancy footwork on a shield.
That is a really nice rack. Best one I've seen of the type!

DirtDawber wrote:

Yeah, you gonna have to do some fancy footwork on a shield.
That is a really nice rack. Best one I've seen of the type!

Thanks! It wasn't THAT expensive either, ordering it direct from UTV Concepts. I got the silver one for $199 with free shipping - black was $50 more for some reason. The stores wanted to charge shipping plus some like Tellico 4x4 add an overize fee, which would add up quick. In comparison, the simple tire mounts for the back that go in the 2" receiver seemed to run $119 or more... Overall, it's one of the few add-ons for these things that seemed to be reasonably priced (I can't believe all the places that charge $50 or more for a little piece of plastic or something).

My original thought was to go with a Seizmik ventilated windshield, which uses a piece of fabric (with zippers for ventilation) down at the bottom -- then I found out that it is make of acrylics instead of Lexan or plexiglass. I need the durability and scratch resistance...

About the windshield making, I made one from lexan that I bought at my local glass place. It worked well but it did scratch up easily and quickly.

The better ones that you buy from rhino suppliers for the most part have a coating on them that makes them hold up better to scratches.

I am in the process of building one, I purchased a 48" x 24" piece of Lexan and am using the clamps from Mcmaster

http://www.mcmaster.com/#8863t22/=2pjk5i

I have not gotten everything completely put together yet, but it seems like it will work well one I do it.

Also, yes lexan does scratch easier, but you are NOT supposed to use window cleaning fluids to wash them off, or solvents containing alcohol. You are supposed to use NOVUS 2 with a 100% cotton clothe to buff out scratches. You may purchase NOVUS 2 from estreetplastics.com

Hope this helps!

plexiglass will crack and break in rough use, we wasted 60 bucks on one for a friends prowler. didn't even last a whole day at brimstone.

06green450 wrote:

I am in the process of building one, I purchased a 48" x 24" piece of Lexan and am using the clamps from Mcmaster

http://www.mcmaster.com/#8863t22/=2pjk5i

I have not gotten everything completely put together yet, but it seems like it will work well one I do it.

Also, yes lexan does scratch easier, but you are NOT supposed to use window cleaning fluids to wash them off, or solvents containing alcohol. You are supposed to use NOVUS 2 with a 100% cotton clothe to buff out scratches. You may purchase NOVUS 2 from estreetplastics.com

Hope this helps!

The problem with cleaning is when you have been riding in dusty or muddy conditions, how you gonna get that stuff off without wiping it on the trail? Unless you have a really long garden hose attached to a spicket somewhere you ain"t. When you wipe the dust and mud off, then you get nice scratches, at least I did with the one I made from lexan.

Has anyone tried to put a lightly tinted piece of auto tint on their windshield to prevent cracking?