Blasting Cabinet Window Replacement

Downeaster

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I have the cheapo benchtop Horror Fright blasting cabinet. Plenty good enough for my use with a few minor updates.

Time to replace the window. I replaced the glass with plexi several years ago and it's held up fairly well, but it's pretty cloudy now.

Questions:

1. Glass, Plexiglass or Lexan?

2. Adhesive protective sheets for the inside of the window? It originally came with glass and protective sheets IIRC, but the sheets didn't seem to last very long and I felt they were pretty spendy for what they were. Better options/sources?
 
I have the cheapo benchtop Horror Fright blasting cabinet. Plenty good enough for my use with a few minor updates.

Time to replace the window. I replaced the glass with plexi several years ago and it's held up fairly well, but it's pretty cloudy now.

Questions:

1. Glass, Plexiglass or Lexan?

2. Adhesive protective sheets for the inside of the window? It originally came with glass and protective sheets IIRC, but the sheets didn't seem to last very long and I felt they were pretty spendy for what they were. Better options/sources?
I use laminated auto glass (cut by the local auto glass co.) with protective covers. If you average out the cost of the lens covers, it's still way cheaper than replacing the lens and it's easier on the eyes
 
I use 3/16 glass without a protective cover. It so happens that I have a number of panes of glass which I designed a homemade blast-cabinet around. I find that a pane lasts a long time at the rate at which I use the cabinet, like 1 to 2 yrs. Good enough for me!

I have a DIY dust extraction system that keeps the flying particles at a minimum, I think. This probably helps with my glass mileage.
 
I would take glass over both plexiglass and lexan. Been my experience that working with plexi and lexan that both scratch and haze very easy.

I repair glass all the time. It’s pretty touch stuff. I’d look for a local window and door company to cut you a piece of tempered glass to fit. I’d also use that clear film.

Every blast cabinet I’ve ever used was always a pain to keep the glass clear.
 
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I don't like those films. Unless you have an easy way to pull the glass out to change it, it's a pain and doesn't last long enough. I used to go through several films in the time it would take regular glass to get too hard to see clearly through. Maybe there are better films than what I was using, but I got sick of changing them so now I just change the glass, but much less frequently. I cheap out and use regular glass rather than tempered. No problems so far.
 
I use the tear off films. When I set my cabinet up I installed nutplates for the glass. Using a phillips bit in a drill takes less than 5 min the replace the film.
Just used my last one so I'm on the hunt for inexpensive replacements.
 
I don't like those films. Unless you have an easy way to pull the glass out to change it, it's a pain and doesn't last long enough. I used to go through several films in the time it would take regular glass to get too hard to see clearly through. Maybe there are better films than what I was using, but I got sick of changing them so now I just change the glass, but much less frequently. I cheap out and use regular glass rather than tempered. No problems so far.
You would be safer using laminated glass from an auto glass supply place. If you break it you don't have glass shards to cut you.
 
I wound up ordering a piece of tempered glass. 3-4 week lead time. :cautious:

Guess I'll put the cloudy plexiglass back for now...
 
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