How to store windshield glass?

[53Mark]

I've taken the front and back glass out of my '53 and need to store them away for several months (hopefully, not too much longer than that). Anyone have any suggestions on how to store for an extended period of time and avoid cracks or any other problems? I have placed in my attic and assume it needs to sit similar to how it was on the car, like in the picture below. Will this work?

[Bhigdog]

Yup!. Put something in front, just in case................Bob

[53Mark]

Yup!. Put something in front, just in case................Bob

Thanks - just wanted to be sure. Too expensive to mess up!

[BJM]

Not sure if my experience will help. I can not 100% tell how you have that windshield stored. I pulled a perfectly good windshield out of my 63 Pontiac Bonneville and set it against a wall in about the same "position" as it was in the car and it developed a crack within 2 weeks (garage is temperature controlled). When I asked for opinions on what I did incorrectly, someone thought that the "tension" of the glass had been relaxed and therefore it was more susceptible to torsional created cracks. Like I picked it up incorrectly or something. Anyway, some people recommended "hanging" the glass as I recall. I do not remember all the recommendations however I will probably not remove the windshield in my 73 Centurion presently under restoration because it is a huge piece of glass with lots of curves.

I will just remove the stainless moulding and repaint to the glass. My 70 Wildcat already has a crack. Just some thoughts, maybe there are more glass experts on here but one never forgets a cracked windshield after you take it out in perfect condition....

[53Mark]

Not sure if my experience will help. I can not 100% tell how you have that windshield stored. ....

It is sitting in such a way that the entire bottom is contacting the floor and the top left and right corners are making contact with the wall. I could probably stuff some kind of padding/old clothes around the rest of it so that the remaining edges made some kind of contact but I don't know that doing that would matter much. Your experience has me a little worried now.

[Bhigdog]

I always stored mine like yours for up to two years, no problems. My glass shop keeps theirs in padded racks, stacked like yours..............Bob

[Rob McDonald]

BJM, if you were just a bit closer than Iowa, I'd blame my kids for that crack. Anytime anything gets mysteriously broken around here, they all look at us with big doe eyes, "We didn't do it, honest." Like the time my MG started itself and nudged into the table saw parked in front of it. Or the time a bicycle "fell" off its storage hook and clipped the rear fender of my Buick.

The only car injury that was 'fessed up to in this family was the stolen BMW in the middle of the night, that came home steaming and totalled. Middle son said he thought real hard about a lie but just couldn't come up with a good one. Alien abduction was already used.

[60FlatTop]

The best place is under your bed. My wife has found the Riviera dashboard, the Impala SS dealer sign, and a few other valuable car parts protected there. A great woman, plagued by poor taste in men.
Bernie

[Barney Eaton]

I made a simple wooden frame that holds the glass and also gives it some protection. It needs to be stored with the edge at 90 degrees to the base. ( ever notice how the glass companies have them in their pick-up trucks)
I put some old carpet on the frame where the glass contacts the wood.

If made properly you can move it around with the help of a friend and not actually touch the glass.

[BJM]

All I can do is share my personal experience. Most of the cars I buy, the glass is already cracked and of course, it depends on the car. As mentioned, the 73 Buick Centurion under restoration has 34,000 original miles and is highly curved and complex so no way I am plling that off and risking it since it has about 3 inch wide stainless mouldings all the way around it. Removing the mouldings will allow me to repaint and no way there will be a close call to expose the new paint line on this vehicle.

I just remember that Pontiac windshield being OK then developing a crack. 1963 Pontiac windshields are not that heavy and I suppose it's similar to a 1953 Buick windshield.

Restorations are so expensive that any money saved is necessary. Experience pays.

[53Mark]

Thanks for all the comments - good suggestions. Now if I can just remember to keep the kids away from BMW's and talk my wife into storing under the bed....I'll have to work on that.

[Dave@Moon]

I've had a spare windshield stored in an old bicycle carton, wrapped in an old mover's blanket, for years without incident. A large (26"/27") bicycle box may be big enough for a 1953's windshield, but any later full-size car's windshield would likely not fit.

[Bhigdog]

The safety of the glass under the bed is directly proportional to the mass of the occupants, multiplied by the frequency of amorous excursions, divided by the modulus of yield of the bed springs. I have the formula here somewhere if you want to plug in the numbers...............Bob

[60FlatTop]

We replaced the thin bed frame slats with 2X4's the first time THAT happened!
Bernie

[RivNut]

Call your local auto glass installer and ask his opinion.

[Ron Green]

While I have a vehicle under restoration the windshield is lying flat, tucked nicely in and on top, wrapped in a blanket in our guest room’s spare bed. Looked in there last week and the Amphicar windshield was still sleeping after 17 months. Also helps to keep unwanted guests from sleeping over.

[60FlatTop]

Since windshield storage was on my mind I figured I better share this style:


And then there is a more casual approach:


I think the metal building that housed the windshield racks has been down for at least 20 years now. Things are so durable when you don't really care.

When I saw Ron's submission about putting a windshield right on top of the bed! I thought of the words from Trouble In River City. When I said under the bed, I would never thought of on top. Why that's like offensive horse racing:

"Not a wholesome trottin' race, no But a race where they set down right on the horse Like to see some stuck up jockey boy settin' on Dan Patch? Make your blood boil, well I should say"

Maybe
"Not a wholesome under the bed windshield storage, no But a place where they set it down right on the bed Like to see some stuck up Roadmaster windshield settin' on the bed? Make your blood boil, well I should say"

Now you have a taste of the humor my kids had to live through!

Bernie

[buick5563]

Also helps to keep unwanted guests from sleeping over.

Mothers-in-Law too.
Why didn't I think of that?