Dash Pod

[V8 Vum]

Hi Again!

I am making my own dash instrument pod at the mo...(and beginning to wish I had never started!)

..and I want to cover the front of the instruments with a clear panel, rather like some of the production cars for ease of cleaning etc.

What I wondered is what material would be best for this and where to get what is a fairly small piece (about 6 x 18 inches) economically if poss!

it needs to be reasonably resistant to scratches and normal car cleaning and does not fog with age etc...

Glass - not really
thin Polycarb ?
other material?

Any advice on what and where to get it would be appreciated!

cheers

keith

[Steve_D]

B&Q sell thin polycarb but I would not advise using anything over your instruments.

Look again at your tintop and you will find the the transparent section is normally both at an angle to your line of sight and curved. This is to minimise the reflections off of it.

If you put in a straight piece across the face of the gauges you will have trouble seeing them.

Steve

[V8 Vum]

Hi Steve,

Yup I anticpated that!

This is precisely what I want to do with mine. I already have set out the pod design to accomodate the slant/curve!

I just want to be sure that I am picking the right material...

Will polycarb last?

cheers

[deadscoob]

Try a decent RC model shop for polycarb/lexan sheet. You should be able to slightly curve flat sheet with a little heat.

[F.C.]

V8 Vum said:

Hi Steve,

Yup I anticpated that!

This is precisely what I want to do with mine. I already have set out the pod design to accomodate the slant/curve!

I just want to be sure that I am picking the right material...

Will polycarb last?

cheers

Makrolon is probably the best for not crazing through UV exposure (All clear plastic will eventually be affected by UV) it has the added bonus of being really tough. can be used for bullet proof "glass" applications.
F.C.

[V8 Vum]

F.C. said:

V8 Vum said:

Hi Steve,

Yup I anticpated that!

This is precisely what I want to do with mine. I already have set out the pod design to accomodate the slant/curve!

I just want to be sure that I am picking the right material...

Will polycarb last?

cheers

Makrolon is probably the best for not crazing through UV exposure (All clear plastic will eventually be affected by UV) it has the added bonus of being really tough. can be used for bullet proof "glass" applications.
F.C.

Thanks F.C. Sounds the stuff....

Any idea where I can get a small bit from? Looks like only huge sheets are available....

cheers

keith