Plastic window questions - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Geof3 · 06-13-2018, 09:26 PM

If you buy, condition it like you would any other vinyl. Make sure it’s clean. The Novus 2 products are amazing and work really, really, well to restore and keep the window looking good. Works on headlights too... regarding the “chop” you would need to start to open the top and see how the window responds, they have a tendency to buckle in weird ways so a little assist goes a long way to keeping them fresh. I have an 02 and mine looks like new. I don’t lower my top when it is cold (55deg or less), and if I am putting it in service mode in the winter, (I live in CO) I warm it first with a hair dryer. No big deal. A couple of things to keep in mind with “upgrading” to glass... the surface is smaller, so less visibility in an already very limited visibility scenario. Also, the glass windowed tops don’t as work well in service mode... things to consider.

78F350 · 06-14-2018, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geof3

... I don’t lower my top when it is cold (55deg or less), and if I am putting it in service mode in the winter, (I live in CO) I warm it first with a hair dryer....

+1

The 2001 owners manual says that "...below 0 degrees C. The rear window can break."

I cracked the window on a near perfect top by opening it on a sunny morning with a temp that was probably just below 50 F. I saw that it had a slight 'bad' crease starting, so I stopped and went to do the chop. Suddenly the slight crease became a 8" crack. That car (1999) has an aftermarket glass window top now.
I still have a 1999 with a plastic window and will not lower the top below 55 deg F.

mikefocke · 06-14-2018, 01:01 PM

Lots depends on where the car resides 90% of the time. Garage both at home and work or always out in the sun baking the oils out of the plastic. I do recommend the Novus products but would be using the #1 polish to restore the oils while if the plastic was old, yellow and gritty I'd be starting with #3 and then using #2 and finally #1. Do the inside of the window too. A good task for a contortionist.

They all get old. And the older the more brittle. A set of how to do it yourself articles re top replacement or even window replacement is here.