[jimib]

My next project is to install the front and rear windshields. I bought via Ames as I usually do. Of the two options Ames offers; I opted to buy the “weld and primer” rather than the ribbon seal tape. I have never installed windshields; so I would like my first attempt to be successful. I could use suggestions and advice before I proceed?

[leeklm]

I have fooled around a little with this, and IMO think it is worth having a pro install the glass using urethane. You can usually find someone that will make a house call and do it in your shop. Since they do this all day long, they just have a knack for getting the urethane thickness correct, etc. Mess it up and it is a huge sticky mess to deal with!

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[ta man]

Originally Posted by leeklm

I have fooled around a little with this, and IMO think it is worth having a pro install the glass using urethane. You can usually find someone that will make a house call and do it in your shop. Since they do this all day long, they just have a knack for getting the urethane thickness correct, etc. Mess it up and it is a huge sticky mess to deal with!

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X2..glass replacement is cheap.

[jimib]

True; I do have local windshield installation guys that make house calls. This may be a sensible option. As I recall from an inquire 2 years ago, about $100 per glass to install.

[leeklm]

Will be the best 200 you ever spent!

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[ZeGermanHam]

Agree with the others. Pay a professional and use urethane adhesive. It's not that expensive to have it done right using superior adhesive.

[dataway]

When having someone else install it .... are the trim clips etc all installed prior to the glass going in, or after?

[389]

That needs to be done by professionals using commercial grade urethane.. For the couple hundred bucks it would cost why bother..

[crustysarge]

I did my 70 Lemans windshield on Sunday. I used 3M ribbon 3/8". The glass was 70's replacement, not the original. I had a buddy help. We set the glass and used the adjustable stops on the bottom to set height first, had to make the hole on the driver's stop a little longer to get the driver's side right. We took the blocks from the ribbon set and I had some others and they measured at 5/16" approx thick, set two on top and one on each side with masking tape to check height for molding. Looked nice and tight. We then used 6 pieces of masking tape, two on top, two on bottom, and one on each side and cut with fresh blade. I quadruple checked the spacing all around until I was sure.

I polished the glass with a buffer and Sonax glass polish, made huge difference on an old glass and wore me out. I cleaned all surfaces on glass and body with Isopropyl Alcohol. The weld was painted so I chose not to use primer, primarily because you cannot find butyl primer in Europe. I installed the clips and touched up with some paint for good measure, I will be dead by the time they rust out, if they do. We then laid the ribbon nice and slow working together, one rolled out while the other cut the paper strip away etc... stayed on edge of pinch weld and butted the ends being careful not to stretch. Looked good. I gotta admit I was scared but what the hell. We used suction cup holders and got it up there and put it in, done. Worked it a little bit by going around the glass with mild pressure, you could see the ribbon sealing up. I used a mild setting on heat gun as well. Molding went on nice and tight and looks good. I made a mistake and laid the ribbon a little high on the bottom and you can see half of it beyond the stainless molding but so be it, this is not a $100K car. I saw one shop on youtube uses detailing spray on the ribbon and then sets the glass, the spray lets the glass move around until they pressed to seal. Looked like they do a lot of old cars that way.

Now, I know the discussions about ribbon vs urethane but this what I chose to do. It was not hard but you have to take your time. If it works, great, if not I will deal with it.

[leeklm]

Originally Posted by dataway

When having someone else install it .... are the trim clips etc all installed prior to the glass going in, or after?

Yes, install trim clips first. Otherwise you may be fighting with clearance between clip and urethane

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[jimib]

Originally Posted by dataway

When having someone else install it .... are the trim clips etc all installed prior to the glass going in, or after?

Yes, I do have all the trim. Smart thinking, thank you.

[Greg Reid]

I've done quite a few windshields, always alone. Never had a single problem except for the one time that I decided to use urethane instead of butyl tape.
My advice, if you're going to use urethane, pay someone to do it. If you don't have a way to heat it, forget about it. It's a nightmare to try to get it to flow out. I literally destroyed two caulk guns trying to get it to flow and it still leaked.
I took it to a glass guy to re-do and saw what the trick was...they have a heated holder that you set the tube of adhesive in. Once it's heated, you put it in the gun and it flows right out.
By the way, another trick he showed me.. To check it for leaks after install, spray a foaming type cleanser around the outside perimeter of the glass. Use an air nozzle on the inside perimeter of the glass. If there is a leak, the air will blow the foam away. Also, you get once chance to set it in the right position. To test fit the location, set the glass in the opening 'dry'... use a couple of strips of masking tape across the glass and extending out onto the surrounding metal. Use a razor and cut the tape where the edge of the glass meets the surrounding metal. This will make alignment quick and easy when you have the sealer down. Just match the tape lines up.

[jimib]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

I've done quite a few windshields, always alone. Never had a single problem except for the one time that I decided to use urethane instead of butyl tape.
My advice, if you're going to use urethane, pay someone to do it. If you don't have a way to heat it, forget about it. It's a nightmare to try to get it to flow out. I literally destroyed two caulk guns trying to get it to flow and it still leaked.
I took it to a glass guy to re-do and saw what the trick was...they have a heated holder that you set the tube of adhesive in. Once it's heated, you put it in the gun and it flows right out.
By the way, another trick he showed me.. To check it for leaks after install, spray a foaming type cleanser around the outside perimeter of the glass. Use an air nozzle on the inside perimeter of the glass. If there is a leak, the air will blow the foam away. Also, you get once chance to set it in the right position. To test fit the location, set the glass in the opening 'dry'... use a couple of strips of masking tape across the glass and extending out onto the surrounding metal. Use a razor and cut the tape where the edge of the glass meets the surrounding metal. This will make alignment quick and easy when you have the sealer down. Just match the tape lines up.

WOW, didn't know it had to be heated. All the more reason to pay a pro.
I'll try that leak test after completion.

[track73]

I broke the windshield during a failed engine installation. The glass company guy came over and took out the windshield and I asked if he could delay installing the new one because I wanted to fix the rust hole in the dash . He agreed and installed it a few weeks later. $199.

[72projectbird]

I've installed a bunch of front and rear windows using butyl. It's super easy, and the butyl sets the depth so there's no guessing.

It's easier with two people, but it's not impossible to do by yourself. Hell I installed a Grand National windshield by myself, and that was a pretty big piece of glass.

Dont pay someone else to do something that you can do, that's my motto.

[78w72]

on my 2nd gen cars i pay a pro to do the front windshield, was $50 to install & is now $75 & includes the urethane. he uses 3M window weld urethane in a caulk gun, has never heated it & it flows out pretty easy, but he has a industrial type caulk gun, not your average residential type. the trick he showed me is to cut the tip in a wide V shape, that makes it come out easy but more important it comes out in a 1" tall thin wall, not a normal bead you get when you cut the tip straight or at an angle. when you lay the glass in it smashes the wall of urethane into a thick bead that fills any gaps or uneven spots for a complete seal that a normal bead might not, & it lets the glass sit at the right height. 10+ years on 1 car, 8+ on another & 6+ on the most recent one & no issues or leaks at all, hard driving & drag use too.

for the rear of the 72 i did it myself with the butyl tape & a helper to lay it in place. i think it was 3/8" thick maybe 1/2". a trick my paint guy does with the tape is after the glass is in, run a small bead of the urethane around the edge of the glass to ensure a water tight seal.

im all for doing things yourself but for something critical like installing a windshield i dont like to experiment on my own higher level restorations... if you mess up it's very difficult process to remove urethane from the channel & glass, thats stuff is nasty when uncured or cured. spend a couple hundred to do it right.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by 78w72

but he has a industrial type caulk gun, not your average residential type..

Was that a manual caulk gun or electric? I literally bent the squeeze trigger on mine. Ran out and got another one and it did the same thing. That stuff was like trying to squeeze mortar through a half inch hole. The glass guy had a heated holder that he left the tubes in until the urethane was hot enough. Flowed right out then.

[78w72]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

Was that a manual caulk gun or electric? I literally bent the squeeze trigger on mine. Ran out and got another one and it did the same thing. That stuff was like trying to squeeze mortar through a half inch hole. The glass guy had a heated holder that he left the tubes in until the urethane was hot enough. Flowed right out then.

actually the first 2 times he did mine it was manual & probably 2-3 times as beefy as one you'd run out & get from home depot, & he would have used that probably hundreds of times doing this. the most recent one he did for me was electric. but the trick that made the manual one work fine was how he cuts the tip... its not just a half inch hole, it was a large "V" shape notch probably closer to 1" long that allowed the urethane to flow out much more freely & in the shape of a tall thin wall.

when i did the back glass i just used a normal cheap caulk gun with about a 3/8" hole & it came out pretty easy, harder than normal silicone window caulk but far from mortar & the gun was fine afterwards. im sure pros in a shop use a heated gun when they do it all day long, but this guy that does mobile service did fine with a manual one.

[Greg Reid]

Maybe I had a bad batch. I don't care how you cut it, what I was using wouldn't have come out.

[brad900]

We use electric guns. Some urethanes are suppose to be heated & others done non heated. I would not blow any air at the urethane unless it is dry, its thick but don't risk blowing it out. You do have some adjustment but if you are way off good luck. You would need the right size spacers to set & keep the height right until it drys. Newbies put way too much down & you will have a lot showing on the inside which looks like crap. Spend the money on a pro