How thick should the visor material be?

[bennroe]

I originally bought .75mm clear APET and used a red mirror film on it. The trouble was, I applied the film to the flat plastic and then velcro'ed it inside the helmet, letting the tension and positioning of the flexible material maintain the visor's curve. Of course, that meant that the mirror film pretty quickly developed runs, so I'm now considering that I should probably get a thicker piece of plastic, use heat to permanently curve it into shape, and then apply the film. Does anybody have recommendations for how thick the material should be to be rigid enough to keep its shape, but not so thick that it's difficult to heat-shape it?

[Gree23]

Have you tried heating what you have? It honestly shouldnt matter too much as long as the material obscures your eyes. Thicker material is just gonna take a little longer to heat. But if you are applying a mirror film over it and it isnt allowing people to see your eyes you should be fine. But I think my lens is .040 thickness. I also just use a welding shield that you can get off amazon and cut to size. keep us posted. Might help if you linked the mirror material you are using as well, but that process you suggested should work. heat first, then apply film

[bennroe]

I tried heating the material I already have, and sure enough I think it's going to work! The trouble is getting it smoothed out properly. It was no problem getting it to take the general shape of the area using quick dips in boiling water and immediately putting it in place, but it has developed little uneven pockets and folds that are much more difficult to smooth out. I tried using a plastic scraper, but it just cools far too quickly for that to be effective. I was thinking it might be easier to use a heat gun inside the helmet, so it can be taped in place and just heated on the spot, rather than hastily inserted, but I worry about potentially melting the helmet. Anyone have good recommendations on how best to accomplish this?

[ugcspawn]

i would not use boiling water for this, as it can get between the film and the visor material. (if it's the red lens, not the black one).

[bennroe]

I was doing this before applying the film, but good to know!