Screen material

[petrolhead]

I know this has been aired before, but I was not part of it and different boats screens demand different materials depending on the curve etc. MIN needs to be treated to a new screen, I wondered what material and what thickness would be best to use in a DIY job at home. It will need to bend well without cracking/or stress lines and it has quite a tight radius on the two sides.

Should I cut it myself or have it done? the existing one is not original and I am not certain of its accuracy as a perfect patter because it has a tendancy to appear a little lower than the frame wants to stand.

I could have it cut a little large and fine tune it to fit.

[se7en]

If i were you, I'd have a new one moulded off the old one, I had one done for 'JADE' when we were renovating her, the company that supplied the material only charged me something like £15 on top of the material cost for moulding it, you will then have a screen that looks like the original, and you won't have the risk of cracking the material if you get it wrong, could be cheaper in the long run.

[Rapier]

http://cmba-uk.com/forum/viewtopic.php? ... windscreen

Speak to Stewart.

[petrolhead]

thanks guys, the expected culprits reply my only worry with moulding off her existing screen is it is not the original perspex. The last owner replaced it and it is not that good I feel.

[petrolhead]

having decided on the more economical DIY option bending lexan sheet (my screen is made from flat bent sheet already so no good to bend a new one too using heat) I know some have used 3mm sheet.....anybody used 4mm or even 5mm and if so what were the resuts on the tighter curved parts?

[floater]

I have made a screen for my Waverider Mustang (Shakespear Clubman) from 3mm perspex and am told that for cold forming the minimum bend radius should be no less than 600mm, for 4mm thick material this should be 800mm,and for 5mm thick 1000mm. For tighter radii you would need to heat the panel to 140-170 deg c and form it over some sort of tooling although I did consider teasing with a heat gun.

As my screen is only 3mm thick I am a bit worried about the top edge getting knocked and cracking and wondered if anyone reading this could recommend where I could get some extruded channel to reinforce it idealy 3mm gap 20mm deep.I seem to remember from earlier threads that Broom Broom obtained some channel for his screen.

Also if anyone knows where (other than Wilks who want me to buy 100M) I can get a piece of windscrween to deck rubber seal for a Waverider / Shakespear I would also be gratefull.

DH

[BroomBroom]

...where (other than Wilks who want me to buy 100M) I can get a piece of windscreen to deck rubber seal for a Waverider/Shakespear I would also be grateful.

Not familiar with the section but it might be worth checking out

http://www.coh-baines.co.uk/

or

http://www.sealsdirect.co.uk/

Hope that helps
Cheers,

Robin

[petrolhead]

My Broom Viking has a thin rubber section over the top screen edge, U shaped, which then inserts into the chromed channel in my case. Not sure if thats original but it seems sensible and in DH's case with 3mm will allow say a 5mm channel section with 1mm thick rubber either side and resulting in a thicker, stronger and probably better looking channel.

Broom Broom had lots of bent channel I hear on his drive following doing Gina's screen, perhaps sme by coincidence fits a mustang

600mm radius is quite large, dont thinkk mins is that big, quite a tight turn so getting a little concerned now. I thought rapier had "bent" tight on his old broom with lexan?

[BroomBroom]

Broom Broom had lots of bent channel I hear on his drive following doing Gina's screen, perhaps some by coincidence fits a mustang

Yup, I'm still the proud owner of a twisted pile of channel... it's a plain 1/2" x 1/2" square section - so there would be a considerable gap for 3mm to slop around in - hence the need for filler strip, it may not be the prettiest, but could 'do the job'. Floater - If you think it's of any use you're more than welcome to it - just come and take it away. I don't know if there's enough to the whole thing in one - you may need to join two bits together as each length has one end that has been horribly mangled.

getting a little concerned now. I thought rapier had "bent" tight on his old broom with lexan?

... try and blag some offcuts and give it a whirl! 3mm bends really easily (if I took my 3mm screen off I reckon it would just twang our flat again - don't know what Rapier used). You may be able to bend 4mm 'cold' - but consider the tension that it is going to be under - I guess that the integrity would depend on the fixing and surrounding framework. I think when you get to 5mm+ you are going to need to apply the heat gun - just until it goes pliable though - too much and it'll be fubar. A gentle, patient approach is the order of the day.

Cheers,

R

[Rapier]

The original Rapier and Gemini screens flattened eventually without their rails, perhaps they were not moulded so staunchly, or they could have been replacements already - I still have the Gemini one if anyone needs a template. Both replacements were 3mm lexan - call me a wimp but it does help to have a helper maintain even tension / position it over the (padded) deck and to wear gloves when handling, esp if you don't take the edges down with a sander.