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About Alyxa McKee

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So far Alyxa McKee has created 17 blog entries.

We Found a Fraud Website

Hey SHIELDS People,

I was doing some research the other day in the attachment industry and I stumbled upon something that caught my eye. It was a website that stated they sold OUR windshields, by name. I had never heard of the company before and that was concerning. I did a little more digging. The website resembled one of our authorized distributors, Skid Steer Solutions. We have worked with them for many years now it this was not their website.

After reaching out to Skid Steer Solutions and digging further into the website, we determined this is a Fraudulent website! AttachmentYard . com – is NOT an authorized dealer of SHIELDS Windshields. They are scamming people using our name and other respectable brands in the attachment and skid steer industry. All of us at SHIELDS do not want to see anyone getting scammed by this fraud website.  I am gutted to learn that people are doing this to good people and companies.

I hope that sharing this information on all of our platforms we will spread awareness to prevent any scams.

Stay safe out there,

Alyx

AlyxaKay McKee – Director.

By |2024-05-15T15:26:31+00:00May 15th, 2024|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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The Windshield Guy

Let me tell you a little bit about me, and then I’ll tell you a little bit about my boss – “The Windshield Guy,” aka “The Eye Candy.” I’ll get to that later.

I’ve worked at SHIELDS Windshields for over seven years. This job found me by chance. Before I worked here, I helped with some artwork for one of their customers who ordered banners every year for seniors. The Shields liked my work and found themselves in need of a marketing manager and somebody who would be able to do some killer graphics for them. That was me.

My boss, the President of our company, our fearless leader, is none other than Brad Shields. I promise you, I haven’t gone a work day without hearing a dad joke since day one. More often than not, it’s one I’ve never heard before. We don’t always laugh, but I think he likes the challenge. He’s always looking for a joke that breaks that barrier where we can’t not laugh.

That’s just his personality, both at work and in public. Crowds tend to circle around him and his energy. We can’t go anywhere without somebody knowing him or within 10 minutes of talking to him, think they’ve known him forever.

His newest and probably most honest and obvious nickname ever is “The Windshield Guy.” We were in Vegas as a group, having a great time on Fremont and celebrating a great day at the ConExpo Trade Show. This guy, completely not sober, comes up to Brad and says, “Hey! You’re the windshield guy!” He completely ignores all of us and goes straight to him. I can’t even remember if Brad was wearing anything that even said Shields on it – maybe a hat. But I know for a fact a couple of us were wearing our Shields gear, and he’s the one who this guy remembers. Dang, he really is the eye candy!

This guy went on and on about how awesome our booth and the people working it were. He said he was going to tell everybody at home about our windows. He said, “You guys were the best damn booth at the whole show!” Ever been to ConExpo? It’s impossible to see it all in one day. Go big, or go home.

Conexpo 2023 booth and team

Trade shows for us as a company are extremely important. It gets us in front of people who may or may not know about our company. We definitely stand out in a crowd – we’re fun, we’re loud, we’re energetic, and, of course, we have eye–candy. Not many presidents in companies attend their trade shows, let alone work at them. Our boss does. He builds the booths, does the artwork (actually, I do; he just takes credit for it!), and is there every single day. He says he’s the reason why people come in the booth – he’s right. That’s what he does – His name is Shields and he makes Windshields.

By Melissa Dillon.

Interested in our products but not sure where to start? We recommend you learn about our material first!

 

By |2024-02-20T21:44:13+00:00February 20th, 2024|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Shipping, Shipping, and more Shipping

Let’s talk about SHIPPING!

We spend a lot of time on our product, process, and bringing you the best polycarbonate windshield in the industry! Part of that includes shipping andshields there is a lot to shipping – so let’s dive in

Lead Times

Let’s start this off by addressing the big thing here…LEAD times! Our lead times at SHIELDS vary. It all depends on what you order and how many. We have our general retail that we do our BEST to keep stocked; however, we cannot seem to keep them on our shelves. We are currently asking 3-5 BUSINESS Days to get our in-stock items made and out the door to you. For our other items that are made to order we ask 20-30 business days. That covers most of our products. Anything that is custom or special you will have to call to get a current lead time. The key thing I want you to remember here is BUSINESS Days. We are open Monday -Friday 8am-5pm (office hours). What that means for you is that if you order on Friday night or 3am on Saturday, that is great, but we won’t be able to process your order until that following Monday. That starts the lead time.

Types of shipping

FedEx shipping

Many of you already know what kind of shipping is out there, option-wise. We offer FedEx shipping on our online store. However, if you are wanting to overnight or the next day an order we ask that you call so we can get you the best rate possible. If you prefer UPS over FedEx due to experience, then order over the phone and let us know your preference. Reminder for the next day, 2day, overnight shipping – this is ONLY for shipping. We see you select this and we will get your part out ASAP, but it does NOT change our lead times.

Does your order need to go freight? Give us a call to order that, you may even qualify for a quantity discount.

Control over shipping

One thing that I feel is important to discuss is control over shipping. Once a product leaves here we have no control over the delivery. If your order gets held up along the way, damaged, or lost we will do our best to make things right. We will do everything in our power to get you your order. We just ask that you are patient with us. Trust me, we are as frustrated as you, but we will fight the carrier for you. We only ask that you are understanding with your account person as it is mostly out of our hands.

Shipping Errors/Refunds

Did you select the wrong shipping on accident? No worries, let us know and we can cancel, refund, and generate the shipping you wanted. Two ways we can do this. If you create an account with us then we can do this automatically. If you do not want to do that, no problem. We will give you a call when it is ready to ship and get your payment over the phone.

On our site, we have a “flat rate” shipping option for many of our products due to the size of the products. If you accidentally select this and do not want it what we can do is create the shipping you want then we will refund you the difference. We will send you a receipt of this as well through our Stripe portal.

Multiple Orders

If you order multiple items online, you are our favorite customer, (wink). We do appreciate this but we want to communicate to you that depending onshipping what you order products may get shipped in multiple boxes and your shipping cost will be split. To do this we cancel the original shipping label and create two or however many needed to get you your product safely. We have come to learn that trying to fit different shapes in different boxes results in extremely expensive shipping. We want to save you money and get you your order safely. If we are going to do this you will be notified!

Important things

Some things to consider when selecting shipping. First, if you have a business address we recommend that you use that to save yourself some cost. Shipping residential is 100%, okay but you might save some money with a business address. However, we know many of our customers’ business is out of their home. If that is you your delivery is still considered residential and we will have to change the delivery to “home” or “resident”. Another thing to consider is 95% of the time, PO Boxes cannot be shipped to. This is hit or miss depending on the area. So if you give us a PO Box address we will call to verify that this will be okay for you. We may ask for this in an email so we have something to share with the carrier. Another thing to remember is that shipping FedEx “home” or “residential” are shipping 7 days a week rather than 5 for a business address.

Lastly, if you are curious as to our process please check out some of our other blog posts. We are growing. As we grow we are doing our best to maintain quick turn arounds for our amazing customers. As many of you know with growth is a balancing act of maintaining our standards while growing! To keep our high quality we guarantee our lead times may fluctuate, but we will get your order out the door as fast as we can. We know that every day you are without a window you cannot work. If this is your case please give us a call and we will do our best to get you back to work!

P.S – Need something ASAP? Call and ask about our Seconds Program. It is not guaranteed that we will have what you need, but we just might!

Your SHIELDS Team.

By |2022-03-18T16:39:35+00:00April 12th, 2021|About SHIELDS®, Products|2 Comments
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Volvo Wheel Loader Replacement Windshield

SHIELDS People,

I want to tell you about this 1 piece Volvo wheel loader windshield but I also want to praise our team here at SHIELDS! This team pulled off an amazing feat with this Volvo Wheel Loader and I could not let this go untold. If you are reading this then you know we now have the Volvo F, G, and H wheel loader series windshield and windows. Replacing glass is what we do here day and in and out; however, this task was a little unique. Normally we bring in the glass and replicate it but this time we got the WHEEL LOADER itself, not just the glass.

The Quick Version

Volvo Large Wheel loader

It was an adventure from the beginning. The driver who hauled this HUGE piece of equipment didn’t have the keys to drive it off his truck! That was the first speedbump. However, we showed back up the next day and it was in our parking lot. Now we are not suited to have giant machines in our buildings so this monster piece of equipment squeezed in our largest door with inches to spare. Once we got it in the building the challenge started. We had to remove ALL the windows and all 3 pieces of the front windshield, keeping them intact so we can replicate them in polycarbonate.

We began removing them and the first thought was how awful it must be to remove these on a work site if they break – just awful. This was even more motivating for us to make an amazing replacement for our customer. In only 3 weeks, we took those 3 pieces of 1/4″ glass and created a 1 piece polycarbonate replacement windshield in 1/2″ polycarbonate! The engineering and work that went into this project are incredible. Not to mention, at the same time as this our team was replicating all 7 other windows on this machine. That alongside multiple other projects at the same time. Not only did we make all 8 pieces in 3 weeks, but we also installed them. Now, that is not normal for us and was a part of this special project. Our typical lead time on projects like this is the standard 8 weeks, but this team went above and beyond.

Why Polycarbonate?

Polycarbonate windshields

Why did our customer want a polycarbonate windshield for his Volvo Wheel Loader? A few reasons. First, when they are on a worksite and this glass breaks, which happens often, they have to stop working and get it replaced. That is expensive in time and resources. Our windshield is our thickest and safest option, 1/2″ not only will this not break on them, but it is also lighter and easier to install than glass. Our windshield also keeps operators safer and more comfortable in extreme climates. Not to mention it is a beautiful, large windshield that no longer has a broken view because it is all 1 now! See the details below on all of the windows!

  • Front windshield: 3/8″ and 1/2″ available 
  • Rear windshield: 1/4″
  • All left-hand doors and windows: 1/4″
  • All right-hand doors and windows: 1/4″
  • Models that ist fits
    • L150F, L180F, L220F
    • L110G, L120G, L150G, L180G, L220G, L250G,
    • L250H, L260H, L220H, L180HHL, L180H, L150H, L120H, L110H, L90H, L70H, L60H

If you have questions on any pricing give us a call! 1-800-554-7527

Alyx – Dir. Of Communications

Learn more about SHIELDS!

By |2021-04-07T14:34:43+00:00April 7th, 2021|About SHIELDS®, New Products|2 Comments
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Your Logo on your SHIELDS Product

Hi SHIELDS People!your logo

Ever want your logo on all of your stuff? That branding is important so let’s talk about that a little! Branding is an important part of a business. It is how you can get referrals, customer retention, and it is how you are recognized in your industry. We understand that this is important to you and we want to help you keep your branding on your equipment. We can help with our part marker lasers. We have part makers that can be customized to your branding by adding your LOGO. Let’s dive into this.

Whether you have a logo or verbiage that you want on your windshield/door, you can have your branding on your SHIELDS windshield! We have a $35 setup fee for the first one. After that, it is included in all of your parts. At the end of this article are the details that we need from you to use your logo. The logo is a standard 3.75″ X 3.75″ located at the bottom or appropriate location on the polycarbonate. Along with your logo, we can add your website, phone number, whatever you want. The only thing that cannot change is we will add our DOT number and warranty tracking number. This gives us the time and date that it was made but is only traceable for us internally, your customers won’t trace that back to us. This gives you the advantage of selling SHIELDS and retaining your customers with you. On top of that, we care about our dealers and if someone calls and tells us they are with you we will do our best to send them back to you. There is only one way to ensure that only YOU can sell a SHIELDS product and that is to pay for the tooling of a product, but that is for another article.

Another fun feature we offer is to those who do not have a logo. If you are not a dealer and you still want your windshield to say something cool, we’ve got you covered! We have an in-house designer who can create a logo for you. Once it is created we will send it out for your approval and if you like it you now have a custom logo! But there is more, if you have a flat windshield or door and you want something larger lasered, we can do that too. We have a table laser that is 5’X10′ long and can laser larger logos. This is a custom cost depending on what size you want. We only have restrictions when it comes to the viewing area of your windshield. This area cannot be lasered due to liability reasons. However, say you have a racing name that you want to be lasered on your windshield all along the top line, you got it!

Whether you are a heavy equipment dealer, a racing team, or a farmer who just wants his name on his tractor, we want to help customize your SHIELDS polycarbonate product! See details below for image types and details.

  • Image types: .jpg, .pdf, .tif, .dxf, .eps or some other kind of vector file.
  • Max finished laser size is 3.75″ x 3.75″ for general logos
  • Custom Designs available if requested.
  • $35 one time fee for regular logos (3.75″ X3.75″)
  • HIGH-Quality images are very important to get a quality lasered logo

Learn more about our windshields.

When should you order your windshield?

Check out all the products we offer.

Have a great day,

your SHIELDS team.

 

By |2021-03-29T13:57:45+00:00March 29th, 2021|About SHIELDS®, Polycarbonate|4 Comments
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Heavy Equipment Replacement Doors

Hey SHIELDS People, Let’s chat about our heavy equipment replacement doors, specifically about our 1/4″ doors and all of our gauges! To make it easy below is a bullet point list of what we recommended our polycarbonate doors are used for, but not limited to the following:

3/8″ Polycarbonate Door

  • Grass Mowing
  • General Contracting
  • Material Handling
  • NOT for Demolition
  • NOT for Brush Cutting
  • NOT for Wood Processors

1/2″ Polycarbonate Doors

  • Demolition
  • Forestry Application
  • Ground Clearing
  • Brush Cutters
  • Tree Shears

1/4″ Polycarbonate Doors

People are sometimes not sure if they should get 1/4″ polycarbonate to replace their glass. If that is you we have one question for you….did your glass keep you safe? If so, then our 1/4″ polycarbonate is perfect for you. Our 1/4″ is great for replacing glass for general work. If you feel like you might buy a mulcher head or another attachment then we encourage you to upgrade to the 1/2″ for safety reasons. Another point I would like to share is that polycarbonate is FLEXIBLE. Polycarbonate’s strength comes from its ability to flex. Some applications ¼” will flex and have movement due to how it is installed in your cab. If this will bother you, we recommend looking at our 3/8” or ½” thicknesses.

If you have questions about what thickness you need, give us a call! 1-800-554-7527

Want to learn more? Check our our blog post about our Form Fit and Function. Check out our full retail line for Heavy Equipment Your SHIELDS Team!

By |2024-03-01T13:49:28+00:00March 8th, 2021|Heavy Equipment, product properties, Products|55 Comments
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When To Order a Custom Windshield

Ordering a Windshield

Ordering a SHIELDS® Windshield in your car?

There are some things we want to share with you about ordering a SHIELDS® Windshield. First and foremost we want to share that due to material costs going up over the past couple of years, we are having to increase our prices. These prices will be effective as of April 1, 2021. Here is a link to our catalog that you can see the new prices. We don’t like having to increase our price but we hope you understand why we had to. If you have questions please use the email at the bottom of this article and we will be glad to help!

Now, let’s talk about ordering your custom windshield. When you order your windshield you are going to be given many different options. We know this can be overwhelming and create more questions, so let’s break it down.

Size Options

  • Stock Trim – this is where we trim the windshield down to the OEM size all the way around for a drop fit.
  • Oversized – this is where we top line the windshield at the OEM line, then the rest of the windshield is 1.5″ large around the rest of the windshield
  • Custom – our custom trim is…everything else! If you want 3″ large around the whole thing or if you have a custom-built with special dimensions. Now with our custom trim, some windshields work better than others for custom trim. Our team has years of experience with this and will be able to guide you so you get the perfect windshield!

Thickness Options

For thicknesses AKA gauges we offer a few for motorsports. The front windshield and rear windshield do not have the exact same gauge options.

Front Windshield –

  • 1/4″ Clear
  • 3/16″ Clear or Tint
  • 1/8″ Clear or Tint

Rear Windshield –

  • 3/16″ Clear or Tint
  • 1/8″ Clear or Tint

Coating Options

The last thing will ask you is what you want on your windshield. Starting to sound like a cake order, right? Well the coating is important. Our SUPERCOAT™ is a proprietary process, you can learn more about it here.   We offer 2 variations for our front windshields. You can get your windshield with SUPERCOAT™ on both sides, or you can get one side with SUPERCOAT™ and the other with our Anti-Fog. We recommended that you contact us and let us explain how to handle the anti-fog. For our rear windshield we offer the same as the front but we also offer uncoated versions of this. Now know that these will scratch up, but can save you weight and money. 

We are always adding new products to our line so be sure to ask us if we have your cars make and model! Another thing to consider when ordering with us, 90% of our windshields are made by hand to perfection. With that we have longer lead times and due to demand we recommended if you are working on a project be sure to order your window earlier than you think you need to. Our windshield makers are in high demand and are currently booked out for the next three months! We love it, but we want to be forward with all of you when ordering you windshield!

If you have questions about anything above please give us a call! 1-800-554-7527

Website- www.shieldswindshields.com

Your SHIELDS® Team!

 

 

By |2021-03-05T19:45:56+00:00March 5th, 2021|About SHIELDS®, Education, Products|0 Comments
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Safety withouth Sacrificing Quality.

Safety without Sacrificing Quality

The longer we are in the business of operator safety the more ways we see people coming up with ways to stay safe. This is great, people are focusing on safety more and more. However, when we see how people are doing this we just shake our head a little. We believe that you don’t have to sacrifice quality to focus on safety.

By quality, we mean a few things. When you add a cage to the outside of your glass window you are sacrificing the quality of your view. When you buy uncoated polycarbonate, cut it up and put it in your cab. Again, the quality of your view goes down as the uncoated polycarbonate scratches. You have also lost some quality in your machine because we both know that door you made does not fit perfectly. We believe that your safety

is the most important factor; however, we don’t think you need to sacrifice the quality of your door, cab, or your view…heck, let’s not forget about your precious time!

Polycarbonate is the #1 choice on a windshield or door to keep you safe. Poly is 260X stronger than glass and if you go with 1/2″ that amount even increases! But you can’t stop there. Your poly door needs to fit right. There are so many factors to consider with this. Does your door have a shape? Do you want to use your original hardware? Do you want a  simple installation? These are all factors that we realized you have to consider; so when developing the SHIELDS Advantage we thought through all of this. We ensure your polycarbonate replacement door fits the same as your glass using original hardware. If you can install glass in your machine you will be able to install ours no problem! If you find you are having some trouble check out our YouTube page and follow one of our installation videos. 

We have checked off the quality of your time and of your door! Now let’s look at the quality of your view. We have worked with polycarbonate for over 45 years and we know how frustrating it is when your poly scratches and hazes the same day you install it. This was one of the first concerns that we tackled years ago. All of our doors and products get post -coated with our proprietary SUPERCOAT hardcoat. This is the toughest coating in the business. Our coating is scratch resistant to steel wool and allows your windshield wipers to work as much as needed! You can learn more about our coating in this article. 

Time, machine, and view – we have checked those off. However, there is one more extremely important factor we have considered when it comes to the quality of your machine, your wallet. We are believers that quality comes at a price; however, that price does not need to break the bank. We are not the cheapest windshield and door out there we know. We pay top dollar for the best optical polycarbonate we can buy but we know that even the highest quality stuff has to be affordable and when comparing we fall in the middle in price. We can’t have the quality and be the cheapest but we will never price gouge our customers. We care about the affordability of our product for the average person.

You don’t have to sacrifice quality to ensure you are safe while working. We work to give you the best safe door and quality door to enhance your machine and your work!

Stay safe,

Your SHIELDS team.

By |2021-03-05T14:23:31+00:00February 12th, 2021|About SHIELDS®, Heavy Equipment, Polycarbonate, Products|0 Comments
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SHIELDS: FAQ’s

Hey SHIELDS People,

This may be the most useful blog post yet. I am sharing with you our most frequent questions and answers about our products. We get phone calls every day asking these exact questions. I hope they are useful for you and if your question is not on this list you can ask it in the comments!

 

1. Going from the original glass size to a thicker option will I have to do any adjusting to make yours fit properly?

  • No, with the SHIELDS® Advantage you get the form fit and function of OEM glass at every thickness. We take the extra step so your window fits without any special additions on your end. Just fit any of our windows the same way you would fit your glass!

2. What do I clean it with?

  • When you receive your windshield there will be a care sheet will all of our instructions. In house, we like to use water, isopropyl alcohol, and your generic brand window cleaner. Keep in mind some window cleaners work better than others. Check out our YouTube for our cleaning and care video.
  • SHIELDS YouTube

3. Will the wipers scratch the product?

  • No, your wipers are safe to use. We post-coat all of our products with our proprietary SUPERCOAT™. This coating is a silicone hard coating scratch resistant to steel wool. We recommend that you check your wipers and make sure they are clean before using them; remove all rocks or sticks.

4. What kind of warranty do you offer?

  • Yes, SHIELDS has a limited warranty covering our SUPERCOAT™ coating. Please contact us for more information

5. How long before it will scratch or haze?

  • This answer varies and is dependent upon the use of products. Please refer to our limited warranty for more information. We are proud of our SUPERCOAT™ and if you take care of it, it will perform for you.

6. Is this bulletproof? 

  • No. Bulletproof products have polycarbonate within their lamination. However, our retail products are not laminate; therefore, not bulletproof. Our windshield and windows are Effectively Unbreakable – 260X stronger than glass thickness to thickness. We are here to provide true information to educate you and keep you safe on the job. Our ½” thick windows are the safest option and if you have questions about thicknesses please give us a call.
  • To learn about thicknesses check out our post on them.

7. Will it break or shatter?

  • No, when facing standard hazards or used appropriately our windows will not break or shatter. This means proper fastener tightening and following all chemical compatibility guidelines.
  • Check out our social media for some great testimonies of our product in action.

8. What is the lead time? 

  •  Our lead time varies by product. When you select an item in our store that item’s lead time will be noted. We do our best to maintain stock items, if your order is a stock item, we will ship it out within 3-5 business days. Other products range, if your item is not listed on our website be sure to call and check lead times. 1-800-554-7527

9. Once there is a scratch, is there anything they can apply to get it buffed out?

  • Very light scratches can be filled with Novus wax, but due to the nature of silicone and polycarbonate, the coating cannot be re-worked.

10. What adhesive do I use?

  • To apply a window that glues in, we recommend Urethane– you can watch our installation video where we use Urethane to apply a Kubota Windshield. RTV Silicone is not an adhesive, only used for water barrier if needed.
    • Here is a video of an installation using an adhesive

11. How is visibility/distortion?

  • We only use the highest quality optical-grade polycarbonate along with our proprietary forming capabilities result in low/no operator distortion on our windows. Our SUPERCOAT™ provides a long lifetime of clear visibility against yellowing and hazing.

12. Will the ½” window fit with existing hardware?

  • Yes, you do not need to have any extra hardware. You can use your existing hardware and gasket; we do not sell gaskets so please reach out to your dealer for a new one.

These are our top SHIELDS  FAQ’s that we get here. If you have any other questions, let us know!

 

By |2021-03-05T14:22:21+00:00December 9th, 2020|About SHIELDS®, Education, Polycarbonate|0 Comments
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SHIELDS® Advatage: Form Fit Function of Glass

Hey SHIELDS® people, let’s learn about polycarbonate!

 

We get questions every day about our 1/2″ and 3/8″ polycarbonate doors and window, “will it fit”? “Do I need anything extra”? We love this question because the response is always the best. NO, you don’t need anything extra and YES our polycarbonate door will fit just the same as your OEM glass! Let’s dive in.

There are two parts to the SHIELDS® Advantage and right now we are talking about the Form-Fit – Function of OEM glass. Every single polycarbonate product you get from us will drop fit into your machine just like your OEM glass would. By replicating the original glass we get the perfect shape and fit for your machine. Then we take the extra step and trim the edges so your original 1/4″ gasket fits your 1/2″ door! This is a highly skilled process that we are very proud to offer you. Does your window glue in? Don’t worry we thought of you too! There is a path made for your adhesive to go along with the trimming to fit like your 1/4″.

Yes, we are proud of our products and when it comes to plastic windows, we will toot our own horn. Plastic is our wheelhouse; however, you, our customers, are the experts with your machines. Because you are the experts we love to hear from you. Whether you love your product, you have a suggestion for us, or you have a new piece of machinery you want a window for, we would love to hear from you. Getting ahold of us or leaving us feedback is simple. You can use any of the links below, we would love to hear from you.

Email: info@racingshields.com

Google review: shieldswindshields

Instagram: @shields_windshields

Facebook: @shieldswindshields

Want to learn more about polycarbonate? Check out this blog all about it!

 

Take care, SHIELDS® people.

 

By |2021-03-05T14:21:23+00:00November 13th, 2020|About SHIELDS®, Education, Polycarbonate|4 Comments
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