Windscreen glazing

[davefiddes]

Hi,

It's getting to the point where I'm going to have to put the windscreen on my beast...gulp. The manual talks about getting a windscreen company to fit it on a labour only basis. Has anyone done this and how much preparatory work in the way of masking, painting, etc did you have to do?

Any tips (other than take it to the factory ) on glazing?

thanks in advance,
Dave

[ultiman]

dave
l used a normal fitting company but keep an eye on them and make sure they finish it properly as they will be used to rep mobiles on the motorway. lt didnt look too difficult but never does if you know how to do it.

[andycanam]

I also worried about fitting the screen myself.

Don't know what others think but in the end I didn't think fitting the screen was that hard... It does take two people and a hard intake of fresh air to get started but in the end I wondered what I was so worried about.

To get a good finish around the edges I put masking tape on both the glass and frame.... then once I was happy with the possition I wetted the finger with 50/50 water, washing up liquid and evened it out to a nice finish, hardest part is getting the sealent even width and dept.
Be carefull though to not put too much liquid onto the sealant otherwise you run the risk of air bubble, which whilst not impossible to remove, they are rather tricky and need instant attention.
You also need to watch it for the next half day just in case... so do it first thing in the morning.

I think with the GTR you need to take a little care with the dash cover... but I didn't have this problem as the Can-am's frame is removable.

Good luck
Andy

[BobM]

What did you use to seal it Andy? The black sealant used during the rest of the build or something else? And what did you use to paint round the edge of the screen?

Bob

[k wright]

The lower, outer edges of my windscreen are a bit wider than the frame in the same location. The factory reports using rubber spacers to help position the screen and minimize this problem. Any suggestions or details on what you have used would be appreciated.

thanks,

ken

[davefiddes]

I don't think you can use Sikaflex 221 (or its equiv) which is what we use to bond bits of body/ali sheet to the chassis. I think they make other sealants/glues that are stronger and more suitable...?

You're right about the dash being a bit trickier on the GTR. I'll have to make sure I've got some sort of masking in place to avoid getting nasty black blotches everywhere! I had hoped to avoid heaving that large plate of glass about myself. It scares me silly...

[andycanam]

The screen comes with the black strip around.... and the factory supplied the screen fitting kit, it has all the cleaning solution and special sealant.

the sealant was enough in most places but I used small cutts of rubber were I needed it.

[jschwartz]

ken,
I used the factory supplied sealant, mask taped the edge of the body and windshield. Be sure to put a faily large bead since the gap is fairly large (especially the lower sides)on the GTR. It's easier to wipe off the excess rather than remove the windshild to add more sealer, don't ask how i know this.
After I set the windshield in and let it set over night I filled the gap around the edge with the same sealer, wiped with my finger and quickly removed the masking tape.
jeff

[mkoch1]

I thought the windsheild just bolted in. I can see running some sealant to fill any gaps, but if you load it up with sealant how will you remove it if the glass ever cracks.

mark

[Steve_D]

I like the idea of doing it in 2 stages.

What do I do to 'finish' the cut edge of glassfibre which is the screen frame opening.
Steve

[davefiddes]

mkoch1 said:

I thought the windsheild just bolted in. I can see running some sealant to fill any gaps, but if you load it up with sealant how will you remove it if the glass ever cracks.

With a knife/wire cutter and a lot of swearing!

Steve. I read various bits in the SVA manual about minimum radius corners on screen openings so I have gently radiused the inside of the screen edge on the top and sides. Round the dash I just sanded it to get rid of the slightly jaggy edge and figured that the black band on the screen and the dash covering would hide the sharp edge. The GRP is much thinner here too so I didn't want to risk weakening it at all. I then painted the edges of the GRP with the same black satin paint I used on the rest of the non-upholstered interior.

[slangley]

If you've had a windshield replaced lately,

The professional glass person removes the molding from around the windshield and uses a knife around the edge to cut out the glass. They cut out the remaining glue after the glass is out. Then they just glue in a the new glass.

Knowing that this would be the process on any production vehicle and having already dealt with the safety (mental) issue of the glass flying forward in a front impact colision, I'm totally comfortable with this process for the Ultima.

[mkoch1]

your basically saying glue the frame in place because if the glass cracks they will replace the glass and the frame doesn't need to come out.

Anyone know if the factory sells just the glass or does it come already mounted in the frame. I don't want to think about the shipping cost on a new windsheild.

mark

[Steve_D]

Mark
There is no separate frame.
The frame being refered to is just the opening in the glassfibre moulding of the body. The factory cut back the moulding flash but some prep work is required to smooth and finish off this area before the screen is fitted.

The moulding has a step or recess that the screen lies in. This recess is exactly the same principle as almost all current production cars where the screen is bonded into the recess. Many then have a plastic or chrome trim which is pressed into the adhesive before it goes off.

To remove a broken screen a screen fitter uses a tool that has a knife blade with a 90 degree bend in it. You dig the blade into the bond under the edge of the screen and pull it all round the screen edge cutting the bond. This is very hard work so the tool has a steel wire attached to the blade just above the bend. the other end is fitted to a pull handle.
Steve

[ultimaandy]

Steve... you are of cause refering only to the GTR, as the Can-am does have a separate frame that is then bolted to the car.

I believe the glass is still the same as the GTR and they are provided separtelly by the factory as it really needs to be bolted in place before the screen is bonded in.

[Steve_D]

Sorry about that. Slapped wrist.
Note to self: Must pay more attention to that 'other' model.
Steve

[jschwartz]

My post was replying to Ken Wright, who has a GTR, no frame around the glass.
jeff

[ultimaandy]

jschwartz said:

My post was replying to Ken Wright, who has a GTR, no frame around the glass. jeff

Don't worry the process would be exactly the same for the Can-am... just you can remove it with the frame afterwards.
I think my point was there is a removable frame on the Can-am, but I'm sorry as I didn't mean to sound so blunt

[davefiddes]

Hope nobody minds me reviving this thread...

I have a fitting kit from Ultima in my greasy mitts but I've no idea what all the little bottles of primer/cleaner are for...and its the weekend.

I seem to have:

Betaprime 5001 - Glass primer
Betaprime 5402 - Paint/plastic primer
Betawipe 04604 - Adhesion promoter for glass

in addition to the actual sealing compound/adhesive.

Google found me a bus screen fitting guide that used some of the stuff I have. The plastic primer seems obvious; just paint the stuff on the cleaned GRP. The betawipe stuff seems to be something you use as a final clean (apply then wipe off) before applying the glass primer.

Have I got the right end of the stick???

[Steve_D]

Let us know what you find out as I now have the same kit and looked equally bemused when I opened the box.
Steve