port hole help needed

[Guest u571]

I have been trying for hours to remove a porthole window with the hope that I can separate the two pieces of glass and remove the fogged,dirty film inbetween.I have tried several different blades and have cut through about 50% of the hard black silicone but this is proving to be the most frustrating time consuming project ever:mad:! Any advice on removal,seperation and rebonding the glass? Seems like I read something awhile back about using a guitar e string but I cant find a thread or maybe I dont know how to use the forum tools.As always any help will be apreciated.

Mark

[89tc]

Hey Guy,

I read an interesting post a while back about a guy whose phone rang while he was working on seperating the panes of glass on his porthole. Well he laid his round worklight down on the glass and went and answered the phone. When he came back, the worklight heated the film, and the two panes of glass twisted apart. He also said that that gold Maserati emblem wasn't damaged at all..... I suppose this could probably be done with the window still installed in the roof since the outer pane isn't attached to the roof itself too.....

[Guest StudeDude 01]

Mark---I recall LouZ (in one of his many posts) gave some details re: separating the windows. If you click on his post history, I believe you can find something there.

My experience was to let the car sit in full sun with the windows closed for at least an hour---it was about 90F that day. Take a blow dryer (~1500 W or highest setting) and hit the outer window at close range for about 10 minutes. Then take a medium blade screw drive and try to insert it gently between the outer window and the top. If you care about the paint on the top, cushion the area where you are prying with a rag or towel so the paint will not chip. Try different areas around the window so see if you can detect any movement. If you can move it outward, do it slowly as not to crack the outer window as well as rip the insignia from the inner window with the inner plastic liner. If it will not move, hit it with the hair dryer again and start over--the hotter, the better. Patience will pay off.

I was successful 50% of the time----cracked 2 of the outer glasses on my cars. You decide whether this idea will work for you. Good luck.

[Guest mtworkshop]

Use a suction cup to grip the outer glass and pull it out, The gent in the first post appears to be working from the inside = the hard way.

Mike

[Guest u571]

As always,thanks for your replies,Louz often has good info.

I am also replacing the foam under the headliner.My local foam store only had camera case liner in 3/4 inch x 24 x 36" sheets. It is a bit denser than the original crap I removed and I think it will work out great. Unfortunately I trashed the metal support rods removing them but this should be an easy replacement.