An Interesting Visor Situation

[Benton188]

I finally got around to trying the transparent worbla for my visor. First attempt turned out decent, had a bubble spot in one area and for some reason it got really glossy on the inside portion. Second attempt came out much better with only 1 glossy spot and a very small bump near the bottom center. The second one also has a slight line on it from when the material was rolled up, but there's nothing I can really do about that. Forming both only took about 3-5min each with a simple heat gun. I would definitely recommend this clear worbla as an alternative to building a vacuum former if you only need to one visor, or need to make it in a hurry. The next question that I'll have to test is, can it be dyed in the same way that plexiglass can be. I'll post my findings when I get around to that venture.

 

[Geirulf]

I'm a little late to the party, but if the plastic-forming and dyeing doesn't go well for you, you could take a look at a motorcycle bubble visor. They have a very bulbous surface with more of a compound curve than your typical face shield. Still might not be ideal, but closer than a regular visor!

 

[MNCProps]

other suggestion for your visor. If it can't be dyed, you can still use window tint. you know those film you apply to car window. They are really cheap come in multiple color. cost me 25$ for a roll which serve to cover all the window of a car. (plenty for a LOT of visor). I've used it on Samus Light suit and had a really good visibility even in low light area in cons.

 

[Reclaimara]

I finally got around to trying the transparent worbla for my visor. First attempt turned out decent, had a bubble spot in one area and for some reason it got really glossy on the inside portion. Second attempt came out much better with only 1 glossy spot and a very small bump near the bottom center. The second one also has a slight line on it from when the material was rolled up, but there's nothing I can really do about that. Forming both only took about 3-5min each with a simple heat gun. I would definitely recommend this clear worbla as an alternative to building a vacuum former if you only need to one visor, or need to make it in a hurry. The next question that I'll have to test is, can it be dyed in the same way that plexiglass can be. I'll post my findings when I get around to that venture.

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My transparent worbla arrived too bit earlier and I had an issue. I wanted to use it like you did, but... well... I didn't expect the worbla would be that blurry.
Well, it says it's transparent and it is! But if you want to use is as a visor, the vision is very blurred. :/
Thinking how harder to see it can be after some paint or film I decided to try other things.

How is your experience?
But it's great to hear worbla is working!

 

[Benton188]

My transparent worbla arrived too bit earlier and I had an issue. I wanted to use it like you did, but... well... I didn't expect the worbla would be that blurry.
Well, it says it's transparent and it is! But if you want to use is as a visor, the vision is very blurred. :/
Thinking how harder to see it can be after some paint or film I decided to try other things.

How is your experience?
But it's great to hear worbla is working!

It is kinda blurry yeah, but my visor in my current helmet is all scuffed and marked from extensive use so I can hardly tell the difference lol. It's transparent enough for me to use it so I'm going to stick with it. I'm just hoping that the coloration process goes smoothly, if not then it's back to the drawing board.

 

[Mesh]

I might use Worbla if I make any builds in the future, looks real easy
Good luck with the Security Helm c:

 

[Reclaimara]

It is kinda blurry yeah, but my visor in my current helmet is all scuffed and marked from extensive use so I can hardly tell the difference lol. It's transparent enough for me to use it so I'm going to stick with it. I'm just hoping that the coloration process goes smoothly, if not then it's back to the drawing board.

Thanks for answering!
Also I can't tell a lot, because I didn't try heating and forming it yet, but I think it might affect too for the better.
It looks great and nice to see it works like I imagined it could, meaning you can get some nice and detailed visors with it. \o/
Soon I'll be doing the visor too.

 

[kaween]

Just to pick up on an earlier concern expressed by Marawuff debating the potential dangers of heating PET-based material in the same oven you'd use to make your food in.

My wife's a chemical engineer specialized in research concerning the influence of plastics and rubbers on food and medicin, and she said Mara's concerns are well-founded.

Although PET is being used for food and drinks and is considered to be safe at room temperatures, it DOES migrate/"leak" if you want. And the degree of this "leaking" rises with the temperature. Hence you should take Marawuff's concerns about PET materials seriously and use a specific oven which you will NOT use for food purposes afterwards.

She did specify that the "dangerous stuff" is pretty volatile and a day of venting the oven should get rid of most of the hazardous materials, she made it clear I shouldn't try to do this at home.

I kinda double-posted this warning in the other thread too, but seeing this is a health-related issue that should not be taken lightly I'm sure it's better to post it once too much instead of once too little.

 

[Benton188]

So.....lessons have been learned:

Don't worry, this was a spare visor and not the good one I made.
RIT dying transparent worbla does not work. The worbla is still too malleable even at a low temp of hot water, and too low of temp will not allow the worbla to gain any color.
Someone had told me about a acrylic paint used for models that is semi-transparent. I'm going to look into this method next, then maybe window tint, although I'm weary on window tint since this visor is curvier than most others.

 

[Blondiebot]

Really like the idea of trying the transparent warbla, it may not have perfect visibility but there are quite a few applications I can think of.

 

[GingerOfMidgard]

I still wonder if you might be able to dye the transparent worbla before the molding process.. or if the heat gun would cause the colors to fail

 

[Benton188]

So here is something I found on eBay and tried on a test piece. It adhered to the worbla very well, but it's not as transparent as I thought it might be. You can't see through it past 5 feet :unsure
I have an order in on eBay now for some Gold One-Way Mirror Window Tint Film. It's the last thing I can think of, and hopefully it works, otherwise I might just have to build a vacuum former.

 

[kaween]

Considering you can build a vacuum former pretty cheap and there's tons of DIY guides out there it's probably the best thing to do. On top of that, a vacuum former isn't a one-trick-pony and will turn out to be useful in ways you probably haven't thought about yet. Building one is on my to-do list too.

Because if you'd be using that painted worbla stuff, you'll be first in line for that stupid joke about cheap glasses.

You know who I ran into at the last convention ?
EVERYBODY !

 

[soldier466]

I've ran into several thought processes on visor and coloring, this thread has been perfect, I really hope the window tint works for you!

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

 

[Reclaimara]

My biggest problem with the sprayed chrome or anything - it comes off if rubbed or something. It bugged me, because I was already thinking ahead - if I use an anti-fog spray - what then? Etc.
I ended up buying some films... like the mirror-chrome-film.

Anyway, during weekend I should finally get to my tutorial about some cheaper visor methods that look nice and you can see nicely through.