How do I vacuum form a windshield from and existing plastic one?

[Len Woodruff]

I need to vacuum form a windshield from and existing kit windshield.

I tried one earlier today but it was not fully formed and it left some residue on the clear plastic part.

Is there some prep I should have done 1st?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[MeatMan]

A reply from a post to another forum:

"...doing clear is by far the hardest material to use!  You will need to have an absolutely mirror finished mold to avoid distortion and be aware that the tiniest piece of dust will look like a meteorite in your windshield."

I did see in the past however that a guy had great success using soda bottles, especially for curved glass.

Hope it helps.

Edited April 8, 2019 by MeatMan

[NOBLNG]

 

[Len Woodruff]

1 hour ago, NOBLNG said:

 

Thanks for the link. I see why this works better than the vacuum form method I tried yesterday.

Edited April 9, 2019 by Len Woodruff

[Richard Bartrop]

Most curved auto glass is only curved in one direction, so depending on what you're trying to do, you could just cut your windshield out of thin, clear plastic.

[NOBLNG]

Here is a thread I started on clear styrene and what I found works better.

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/140011-evergreen-clear-styrene/

 

[Len Woodruff]

Thanks again to everyone for your input.