I need some 5mm thick to make a headlight glass for the RS. The intention is to fit a projector with a Bi-xenon HID in it. Would prefer to buy in Europe as it makes customs easier.

Ebay is a great source.... depending on the size your after... there are lots of companies on there that will cut to size as well....

Any place selling glass should have it. I have got it here for windows for a rally car. Should be readily available in France, maybe builders providers etc.

Polycarbonate is named "Plexiglass" in North America (maybe the same tradename in Europe). An alternative to Plexiglass might be Lexan. It might not be necessary to go so thick as 5mm in Lexan to get the same shock resistance. Here in Canada, Lexan and Plexiglass are available in most large building supply stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Rona for example). Have you tried asking building yards?

robmack wrote:Polycarbonate is named "Plexiglass" in North America (maybe the same tradename in Europe). An alternative to Plexiglass might be Lexan. It might not be necessary to go so thick as 5mm in Lexan to get the same shock resistance. Here in Canada, Lexan and Plexiglass are available in most large building supply stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Rona for example). Have you tried asking building yards?

Sorry, Robmack, but Lexan is polycarbonate and Plexiglass is acrylic. You are rigth that 5 mm Lexan is overkill for a headlight glass. 2.5 or 3 mm is more than enough and both easier to work with and cheaper - and more likely easier to find.



Happy New Year

Thanks guys, so Lexan is the stuff that I need.

Lexan is harder than perspex and harder to work than perspex which is softer. You will need heat to bend tabs if that is how you intend to attach it after cutting to shape.

Buy a big sheet so you can cut a few practice pieces. A jigsaw should work well. I know I would stuff it up first attempt.

Dave.

bikerboy wrote:Thanks guys, so Lexan is the stuff that I need.

Lexan is a trade name, another is Makrolon.

Why could you not use the glass from the stock light since it is a perfect fit into the faring and if a gasket is used it also stops water from coming in around the edges. You can modify the back of the light since it is plastic to hold just about any light setup you want to make.

The glass is patterned to make the beam. If you use a HID projector then you need a clear glass.

Bikerboy

I noticed in France in the commercial parks where you generally have Decathlon etc etc there is also a builders supplier I think called Bricolage and I saw sheet polycarbonate for sale in them. There is one at Bordeaux but there are others. As previous posts mention, Lexan and Makrolon are two trade names. Makrolon tended to be favoured by window manufacturers which might make it easier.

92KK

Thanks 92KK. I have found some sheet in my garage that I bought from Brico Depot, but I am not sure what it is - it might even be polycarbonate for all that I know. I might use that for a dry run for now.
I see that there are people on ebay.co.uk who sell A4 sized sheets of Lexan, and as A4 is just big enough, that will be a good source.

Lexan Margard is another to look out for, its a hard coated Lexan. Far more scratch resistant. We used it in forest excavator applications where ordinary laminated or toughened glass was just not good enough.

Bikerboy

Some sationery stores, and Eleclerc/SuperU for example sell kits for framing your own posters and most of them use sheet polycarbonate. An A3 size might do. Car headlights are usually curved which allows manufacturers to use thinner sheet as the curve gives strength and rigidity. The K headlamp unit is quite flat so you might need some extra thickness. I have seen it bent with a little heat but you must be careful, too much and it goes milky. I have not taken a K headlamp apart but they do seem to use the same stainless steel clips used on Citroen/Peugeot headlight units to keep the glass lens in place. You might need a little extra thickness at the edges as the glass lens may have little ridges or a raised edge to hold the clips in place. The biggest issue I see with polycarbonate is how they go cloudy and get scratched so maintenance is important.

HoverK100 has made a very important suggestion, but you wont get that in Eleclerc or SuperU.

Its not a big deal to post some over to you if we find it.

92KK

Rummaging through my cave I found this, its a headlight cover for the rs
they cost about 25-30 quid made from thermoformed acrylic
it may be a tad small for a direct lens replacement but you could find one off a car in a breakers you could adapt

Now there is an idea Mr postman. If I could remove just the centre section of the original glass and bond that over the middle then I would have a solution.
The only problems that I can see in that is that I am not sure I could remove the section of glass (effectively cutting a hole in it) neatly without breaking it, and would it look good afterwards.

the.postman wrote:Rummaging through my cave I found this, its a headlight cover for the rs

In the "Col assist" thread, I see that Col also got one identical.


Just an idea ......don't know if it's possible......where to go to have this done,
if possible, sound time consuming and expensive.........
Grind away the pattern at the rear side of the glass, and then polish it.


I think the easiest would be to adapt a headlight from a other model,
got no idea about which one.

The R100rt had a similar glass cover

Got this pick from fleabuy



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-R100-RT-1000cc-FAIRING-HEADLIGHT-COVER-LENS-RUBBER-HOUSING-1989-/190765483641#vi-content

I think you would have fun(nail biting) cutting the original glass out,
maybe start with a glass/ceramic tile drill available at most diy stores

I had thought about grinding away the pattern on the inside of the glass and even did some experiment on the spare glass. I put some water in it to stop it getting hot and cracking, then I sat for about 2 hours with a rough sanding disc used slowly to prevent heat build up. It did make some impression, but I think that I would need a spare three weeks to get all of the pattern off in the centre of the glass.