Plexiglass bend help

[SRR]

Anyone ever bend plexiglass?

I want to bend some 1/4 in plexiglass to make a heater air tunnel under the STi passenger seat that i can mount a 200 W Amp on top of. Best I can describe the shape is in a fat flat topped upside down U. That should help keep the heat away from the amp. And if I bend up the back edge, it would help keep the rear seat passenger feet from kicking my nice new amp.

I would add some metal brackets to hold it to the seats rear hold down bolts. I might also attach some brackets to the metal part of the heater tunnel toward the front of the under seat valley.

So back to my question. Ever bend plexiglass? With what? Hair dryer, torch, heat gun? Did you bend a nice edge? Would you just bend it over a board or clamp it between some boards?

Thanks
Scott

PS: I know the common place is in the trunk but I often fill that up for road trips and dont think it would get enough air flow with my stuff smashed up against it.

[ssamurai26]

Bending:

In my opinion, a heat gun used for stripping paint ($25) works best when trying to bend acrylic. With a pencil, mark where you want to bend the Plexiglas. Place that line on an edge that you can bend it over. Then, with two people, one holding the heat gun and the other bending the acrylic, move the heat gun slowly, back and forth across the line. You won’t have to heat both sides, just the outside. Stay far enough from the acrylic so that it doesn’t melt or bubble. You can start out at 4 inches away and work your way towards the acrylic until you find a distance you find works best. When the Plexiglass gets soft, you will see it start to sag, but you will need to keep heating slowly. Don’t rush this part. Gently, start bending the Plexiglas downward. When you get the desired bend, remove the heat, and hold it in place until it cools. If you want to speed this up you can either direct a fan on it, or drip water over the bent edge.

From this site: working with acrylic

[Th3Franz]

My dad and I have always just used a vice with wood blocks to hold the plexiglas, and then we use a heat gun and bend the other edge of it. You just gotta be patient as you do it and it should work out fine.

[SRR]

Cool.
Thanks guys.

What do you use to drill it? Brad point bits? I have had problems in the past with it cracking with regular drill bits.

[04blkWRX]

Brad point bits are not the best choice, they're designed for wood. Look here: http://www.bertram31.com/proj/tips/drill_acrylic.htm

That being said, I just duct taped the heater vents closed when I put my amp under the seat. I don't have the creativity/persistence that you do.

[SRR]

Perfict Thanks