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Heres how I made mine.



I started with a piece of 1/4 inch LEXAN 14x24, a 1/4 inch piece of foam board and a strip of 1/4 inch aluminum edge trim.



I cut the edge trim to six inch strips with a metal saw blade and notched them at 2 inch spacing. This allows it to form to the curve of the roll bar.



I attached it with 3M automotive moulding tape. Then I took measurements and rough cut a piece of the foam board.



Used a Sharpie pen to trace the contour of the roll bars and back deck.



And through trial and retrails, I cut and sanded the foam board with a sanding wheel drill attachment.




Until I got the best shape possible and fit it in to place.
This is my template for the LEXAN which I only want to cut once.



I then traced it onto the lexan leaving the clear protection film on and lined it with masking tape to trace on and cut through.




Then used the same sanding wheel to shape, then smooth and polish the edges with smaller grit wheels.



Now slide it into place. To make a tight fit I took a super thin laptop mouse pad that I had lying around, fabrick backed with foam and only about an 8th inch thick. It pads and hold the lexan nice and tight with the foam side to the LEXAN



For the etched logo I printed out a Z4 logo from the internet. This one -
http://www.cartype.com/pics/1618/full/bmw_z4_logo.jpg
Then traced it onto a piece of Clear shelf lining contact paper, centered it and stuck it down.



Then added a bottom edge trim to keep it from flexing and trimed the aluminum edging with self adhesive chrome auto trim.



Although I have since changed out the chrome trim for black.
The best part is the way headlights light up the Z4 logo at night.



All for around 25 dollars U.S.

Look great at night

Superb job my man. Sell them as a kit on ebay.

Superb job my man. Sell them as a kit on ebay.

I think the Lexan sheet, templating to build it, the fit etc. is great and you could as said above now whizz them up for sale.

I'm not convinced by the brackets, but you did say you changed them, so it would be nice to see the final. They look a bit crude with 90 degree cut ends and flex notches, so could be a little better on such an obvious part of the car.

Would it be posible to use the OEM mesh fittings ont he hoop, or are they too expensive?

Great project

As CJ said the brackets stood out to much but better in black which you have now done. Using the OEM brackets would be good but maybe difficult to fit as you need to remove/replace the original hoop covers.

Overall for the price though you cant argue

hmm, think ill try something at work, we sell laser cutter/engravers to schools, and use acrylic on them alot. my wind deflector has the mesh removed and clear acrylic fitted which is badly scratched so think ill break it apart and cut a new part, and maybe cut or engrave into it or use a tinted colour.

denzo wrote:Superb job my man. Sell them as a kit on ebay.

Big time! you would sell a lot more than you can ever imagine!

Very similar to how I made mine, but I had a good band saw with a fine blade that made the edges very close so that just a little sanding brought the edges down exactly. Really not hard to do and not expensive to try. If you try and it turns out badly, you are not out a lot of money. As far as the color of the brackets you can paint them any color to match the hoops so that they don’t stick out if that is what you worry about. The biggest problem I had was not making the deflector, but getting it to now rattle. I had to pack it with felt on the brackets, but once done it is great and really does the job with the top down and side windows up. Wife loves it.

Here is my result with a couple of hints.
1. Radius on top is 5 foot
2. bend the channel before cutting

very nice, I need to try and make this

Some notes from my own stab at this

http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=307269
I looked at this post from "WhamZ" (Thanks Bro) and then made my own ( I have the speeding ticket Red Zed4Si at the bottom of the post). I thought it was a fun project.

A few folks believe LEXAN is the superior product. It is if you are worried about stopping bullets and are willing to get min 3/4" thick that would be right, but for scratch resistance and optical clarity Acylic is superior. It is a harder product making it more resistant to scratches. The amount of suface loading at speeds of 130-140 mph or less is well handled by 1/4" acrylic. If I wanted to go that fast on a regular basis, I'd proabably have a Coupe though.

The shield is well seated with a 3 point mount. I have had no vibration or worries about the wind breaker coming loose. I absolutely love what its done for the cruise. The sound of my wife screaming at me when I push the sport button and bury the accelerator has acheived a new defintion of sound quality that was previously missing.

Pretty much all you need in the way of tools are:
1. Jigsaw or Bandsaw
2. Stationary drum or belt sander
3. various grits of sand paper to 120 through 1000 (for smoothing the edges by hand) after you have the shape just right.
4. Orbital polisher and plastic scratch remover of your choice. (I like Meguiars PlastiX)
Materials:
1. 1/4" acyrlic
2. 1/4" Aluminum U channel
3. Thin black felt
4. 3M auto moulding/trim tape (NOT the foam tape) This is similar to a solid putty on a nice roll with a release cover on one side
5. Spray glue (able to bond cloth to metal) something like a contact cement
6. 1/2" wide Auto body moulding trim
7. 2-4" wide painters tape (bigger is better).
8. distilled water
9 microfiber cloth

Pretty much anyone with a little woodworking experience could do this from scratch in a day. Once you have done the first, any additional are cake.
1. The big trick is getting the template just right, working just the BOTTOM and the SIDES thats just a little cut, tape and fit with cardboard first, then transfer that to a foam core poster board. Be sure to account for mounts (I put the PLAIN (no felt attached) mounts in place temporarily (just use some small pieces of the moulding tape) and then test fit the template in them. It should fit the mounts with very little (1/16" to 1/8") side to side slop. The slop will go away when the felt is put inside the mounts. Then draw a 5 foot radius accross the top of the foam core poster board.
2. Other than that BEFORE you cut out the 1/4" Acyrlic, clean it with a little distilled water and a new microfiber cloth, THEN cover the entire surface, both sides, with painters tape.
3. If using a jigsaw put a towel under the acrylic before cutting (careful not to get it caught up in the blade)
4. Draw the outline on the acrylic and cut it out with 1/8" relief.
5. Make sure the table surface of the stationary sander is clean and smooth - if not tape some carboard over it.
5. Use the stationary sander (120 inital and 150 grit final) to dial in the outline. Wipe down the table in between passes, EVERY time. Then polish out the edges with the various grits of hand sandpaper until all the edges are scratch free.
6. Pull the painters tape off. Carfully inspect the acrylic. If you still manage to scratch the acrylic it can be polished out with the orbital and a good plastic polishing compound. I did this anyway.
7. Glue some thin black felt on the inside of the mounts. (I used spray glue on the aluminum, folded the felt over a scrap piece of acrylic and firmly shoved it into the u channel)
8. Apply some 1/2" wide auto moulding to the outsides of the aluminum U channel using the 3M tape again, cut to fit.
9. Put all 3 mounts on the acrylic.
10. Clean the aluminum channel and the points on your Zed where the mounts will end up with rubbing alcohol.
11. Put moulding tape on all 3 mounts but only pull the tape cover off the tape that is for the BOTTOM mount. It will be attached to the Zed first.
12. Carefully put the windbreaker with all three mounts slipped on it into position on your Zed. Keep the bottom mount from contacting at this time.
13. When you like the location of the bottom mount push down firmly on the entire assembly to get the moulding tape to attach.
14. Now move the Assembly back or forward form the top until you have it positioned correctly. Use a fine tip marker to identify where the side mounts will be placed. Test the marker in an inconspicuous location first to make sure it will come off with rubbing alcohol .
15. Now use one hand to hold the bottom mount down and still. Use the other to gently work the acrylic free.
16. Remove both side mounts from the acrylic and attach them where you previously marked.
17. Carfully replace the acrylic into the mounts. Once in push it down firmly.
18. Put in all in place and allow the moulding tape to do its job. THAT means wait 2 days before you put the top down. The glue in that tape needs time to bond.
19. Once in place I have found no need to remove the windbreaker. It can be cleaned in place with distilled water and a microfiber cloth. Top goes up and down very nicely with it in place.

friends, please tell me. maybe someone saved the picture from the first message.
from a reputable Z4WAM.