boat windscreen

[lbger]

Hi all,
I have a boat that i have recently bought and the windscreen is a little worn.. its made out of perspex i think (its not glass) it is not the best to see out of and i need to get it replaced.. what would be the best idea of where to start? the boat has a bimini that is clipped with press studs into the frame of the windscreen and looks to be a homemade arrangement from before i bought it.. Is it easy enough to do yourself or should i leave it upto someone who really knows what they are doing?
cheers in advance and any comments would be appreciated.
Nathan.

[rayken1938]

First off try and polish it with brasso quite often that will be all it needs. If it is not curved it is a reasonably easy job to replace ./ Your biggest problem will be the mounting screws may have grown into the ally.From memory polycarbonate is better than perspex.
Cheers
Ray

[Fed]

Not so sure about Brasso but I was going to replace mine until I tried Plexus, it really is an amazing product.

[FishHunter]

Dont use perspex, I had mine done about 2 years ago and its allready badly crazed from the sun. Polycarbonate or safety glass are the go

[Steeler]

As the Fed man says Plexus

[oldie]

where is best place to buy this plexus?

[Angryant]

where is best place to buy this plexus?

Got mine from Autobarn

[deckie]

Acrylic /perspex is actually quite UV stable...50% of the average windscreens that are "crazed" or "hazy" has come from using a product on it, or the one few consider, using a rag to clean..some of the rags we use to clean/polish are fairly abrasive to acrylics/polcarb....ie., we kill with kindness. May have been you or previous owner. The other 50% is more than likely from not rinsing salt off which becomes abrasive. i.e. lack of kindness. In general very few will admit to either causing the premature downfall. Age is always a distinct possibility coz nothing lasts forever in a harsh environment. Might sound funny but buffetting by the wind doesnt help coz its a bit more flexible than something like glass and flexes on a minute scale..over time that can cause it to lose a fair bit of its transparency too...aging. Never rub the surface with anything and will last a lot longer.
Try not to use anything other than either a specialist product specifically for acrylic (and i wouldnt trust any that simply mention acrylic as one use for it), or a very very weak detergent mix in water at most..a detergent that doesnt have all sorts of additives in it like ammonia. If u need proof of this spot something like windex in an out of the way corner of the screen, wait 6 months then have a look at it.
Havent bothered trying "plexus" or anything similar coz never found a need, getting great rep[orts though so might give it a try. I just put new stuff in maybe once every 7-10yrs. Lexan/Polyc is a fraction more abrasive resistant but probably no more UV tolerant than perspex/acrylic which is actually a good all round product for harsh marine environments.
So dont assume its just the sun doing the nasty on it...have a closer look at what YOU might be doing , especially if replacing so that the new one lasts a lot longer.
Windscreen refurbs can be a bigger job than expected...sometimes the screws corrode into the frame, and sometimes the existing acrylic/polycarb has been glued in with strong stuff making it bloody hard just to get out. Dont know till u start. Can be a prick of a job depending how it was put in.

[lbger]

thanks heaps guys.. When i got the boat it was like it and its really annoying in the near dark before dawn. I haven't heard of this plexus stuff so will try and hopefully that does the trick.. I suspect as deckie is saying that the job will be a bit more of a pain in the butt than it looks as im sure there is some corrossion ect and the screws in the frame will be difficult. Its curved as well so i cant just get a bit cut and chuck it back in... SIGH...
Cheers Guys our help is well appreciated!
Nathan.

[Cheech]

I replaced my windscreen myself last year. Sheet o 4mm perspex was $160.00. Just drill out the press studs and replace them after you finish.

With mine, just needed to remove the top, and then it slid out after removing the rubber locaters.

[deckie]

I replaced my windscreen myself last year. Sheet o 4mm perspex was $160.00. Just drill out the press studs and replace them after you finish.

With mine, just needed to remove the top, and then it slid out after removing the rubber locaters.

Hell you got lucky.
Did one 2 yrs ago that was curved, that "someone" had used s/s screws into an ally frame that you could barely make out for the corrosion..only to drill/smash them out using thousands of four letter words...only to find the old perspex had been glued in with something industrial strength. Not Happy Jan...seemed like such a simple journey i set out on, then turned into a nightmare.

[Shark Poker]

Ibger,
What type of boat and type of windscreen is it? Can you post a photo?
Pauly

[FishHunter]

Acrylic /perspex is actually quite UV stable...50% of the average windscreens that are "crazed" or "hazy" has come from using a product on it, or the one few consider, using a rag to clean..some of the rags we use to clean/polish are fairly abrasive to acrylics/polcarb....ie., we kill with kindness. May have been you or previous owner. The other 50% is more than likely from not rinsing salt off which becomes abrasive. i.e. lack of kindness. In general very few will admit to either causing the premature downfall. Age is always a distinct possibility coz nothing lasts forever in a harsh environment. Might sound funny but buffetting by the wind doesnt help coz its a bit more flexible than something like glass and flexes on a minute scale..over time that can cause it to lose a fair bit of its transparency too...aging. Never rub the surface with anything and will last a lot longer.
Try not to use anything other than either a specialist product specifically for acrylic (and i wouldnt trust any that simply mention acrylic as one use for it), or a very very weak detergent mix in water at most..a detergent that doesnt have all sorts of additives in it like ammonia. If u need proof of this spot something like windex in an out of the way corner of the screen, wait 6 months then have a look at it.
Havent bothered trying "plexus" or anything similar coz never found a need, getting great rep[orts though so might give it a try. I just put new stuff in maybe once every 7-10yrs. Lexan/Polyc is a fraction more abrasive resistant but probably no more UV tolerant than perspex/acrylic which is actually a good all round product for harsh marine environments.
So dont assume its just the sun doing the nasty on it...have a closer look at what YOU might be doing , especially if replacing so that the new one lasts a lot longer.
Windscreen refurbs can be a bigger job than expected...sometimes the screws corrode into the frame, and sometimes the existing acrylic/polycarb has been glued in with strong stuff making it bloody hard just to get out. Dont know till u start. Can be a prick of a job depending how it was put in.

I wish my windscreen could read this. I never touched the new panels with anything except boat wash till they were badly crazed. They are still pretty scratch free and clear except for the crazing. There is even a narrow unblemished strip along the top where the sun dont shine.
On the other hand the 32 year old polycarbonate has come up pretty good with meguiers plastx and some other plastic cleaners I have used. I will take a pic next week

[nathank]

Hell you got lucky.
Did one 2 yrs ago that was curved, that "someone" had used s/s screws into an ally frame that you could barely make out for the corrosion..only to drill/smash them out using thousands of four letter words...only to find the old perspex had been glued in with something industrial strength. Not Happy Jan...seemed like such a simple journey i set out on, then turned into a nightmare.

Well i have tried the plexus to no avail and this weekend have decided to take out the windscreen myself.. i had to unscrew the frame and with quite a few four letter words got the windscreen out.. The drama was the top part of the frame is stuck on solid like it is glued with something that may as well be wielded in.. Have sent an email to holland plastics regarding getting the piece of polycarbonite or acrylic.. Now i have to get the frame for the top bit as well, and rivet all the press studs in again.. from experience does anyone know the best place to get this organised, ive got fairly limited skills in this area (being a chef and working in an office will do that to you)
Cheers for the advice so far and any help would be appreciated.
Nathan. (lbger is my other username)

[ozscott]

That 3M product is good. But really its hard to get too much out of them once they are badly gone. I recommend toughened glass specifically for boats or Lexen a distant second - just from my own limited experience.

http://gjames.com/professional/glass...rces/transport

Cheers