windshield install

[Guest rls65rls]

been posting alot here. you all have been amazing with all the help. so I'll ask another question. we would like some info on installing the windshield. Is there a gasket for installation? glass tape, or a butyl dam tape, any hints. thanks again and again.

[alini]

Butyl tape run it around the window frame, with the help of a friend place the glass in the frame. I made a few spacers out of rubber erasers for the bottom to keep it off the bottom of the frame. Press the window into the frame once you like the way it fits. As you press the glass you can see how the tape sticks. I also went and took a wooden stir stick and pressed against the tape to square it off and get as much contact as I could against the glass.

[1965rivgs]

Butyl tape run it around the window frame, with the help of a friend place the glass in the frame. I made a few spacers out of rubber erasers for the bottom to keep it off the bottom of the frame. Press the window into the frame once you like the way it fits. As you press the glass you can see how the tape sticks. I also went and took a wooden stir stick and pressed against the tape to square it off and get as much contact as I could against the glass.

It has been awhile since I purchased a butyl tape kit but they came with spacers as part of the kit in the past. Great tip Alini,

Tom

[JZRIV]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3M-New-5-16-x-15ft-Window-Weld-Round-Ribbon-Sealer-Auto-Glass-Replacement-Kit-/161266930287?hash=item258c42126f&item=161266930287&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr

Local NAPA can get these for you too. For when this link is no longer any good-3M part number 08611

Edited February 26, 2015 by JZRIV (see edit history)

[Seafoam65]

The biggest flaw in otherwise nice restorations that I see at every car show I attend is

cars that have visible windshield sealer that you can see through the windshield from the outside. You

have to be very very careful to note where the butyl tape was on the window frame and put it back in the same place as before so that it doesn't protrude past the stainless moldings and become visible. My

car has the original windshield from the factory and there is no butyl tape visible anywhere around the edges of the glass. It is very common to see windshield sealer more than one inch wide around the edges of otherwise pristine show cars, especially if a glass shop put it in with urethane sealer in

a caulk gun. Modern cars have blacked out areas three or four inches wide around the edge, so no matter how sloppy you are the sealer isn't seen. Most glass shops don't know how to do a nice job on a sixties car. On another note, it is common to see delaminating

edges on windshields that were put in only a couple of years prior. This is caused by people allowing windshield sealer to touch the laminate between the glass layers on the

edges of the glass. The sealer then weeps into the laminate on the edge, causing it to

make bubbles in the laminate which creep out from behind the edge moldings. DO NOT

allow the butyl tape to touch the laminate on the edge of the glass!

Edited February 26, 2015 by Seafoam65 (see edit history)

[Guest rls65rls]

thanks again guys, I'll go with the butyl tape and check with napa, I have a window guy that just wasn't sure about what they used on the buicks. I'll let you know how it turns out. thanks.

[RivNut]

If you'd like, I can look in my body (not chassis) manual and see what was said was used at the time the car was new. Things have changed in 50 years so perhaps there are better alternatives.

[Guest rls65rls]

thanks, I talked with a window specialist here and he said they no longer use butyl tape in older cars because if you were to be involved in a accident there is a possibility of the window popping out when using butyl tape. so he says there using a windshield glue. something they use in newer cars, also for insurance reasons. anyone hear of this?

[JZRIV]

If you use the 3M kit above with proper installation there is no way the windshield is going to pop out in an accident. I think your specialist may be confused or something was lost in translation.

The glass will shatter long before it ever breaks loose from the ribbon sealer. Anyone who has ever removed a windshield with this sealer on it will attest to this fact. I have removed and installed many over the year. As far as this "glue" being used for insurance reasons I have no info on that as I am not in the glass install business. The only scenario I could see it popping out is if the sealer is original 40 plus years old and so dried out from car sitting outdoors in the sun it has lost its adhesive properties. I actually had a rear glass get sucked out of a Riv parts car being hauled on a trailer because the seal was so dried. rusted out floors created a positive pressure in the car. This was a car that sat in a junkyard for over 30 years but I digress.

The 3M round ribbon sealer has a secondary function not normally understood and that is to maintain the proper installed height of glass the whole way around so the trim fits and lays flat. The ribbon sealer is stiffer than the urethane sealer applied with a gun that many shops use. The urethane sealer does have better sealing and adhesion properties and because of that its more forgiving for uneven or improperly prepped pinch welds. This minimizes installation labor and still get a sealed glass which is important so glass shops can make money. As mentioned above it is very difficult to apply it with the proper thickness bead which will compress to just the right height and also prevent it from squeezing beyond the finish trim and looking ugly as so accurately explained by Seafoam65 above.

The 3M ribbon comes in 5/16 and 3/8 diameter. 5/16 has always worked best for me on 67s. Good idea to measure the glass height before removal to insure the correct diameter is used. A slight amount of compression will take place. Maybe 1/16" and typically no more than 3/32"

When using the ribbon sealer the pinch weld needs to be clean and reasonably smooth meaning any rust needs repaired. I've seen some pinch welds from factory that were very uneven from spot welds its a wonder the glass ever sealed. No doubt the cause for many a rusted out floor boards.

Edited February 27, 2015 by JZRIV (see edit history)

[Guest rls65rls]

thanks Jason, I'll check all this out and also check my body manual as rivnut mentioned. I'll get back to you all. many thanks.

[Seafoam65]

You may have difficulty getting a glass installer to use butyl tape.....for some reason they don't like it, but it is the only way to install the glass the proper height from the body so that the trim fits snug on top of the glass and so that

there isn't any visible glip glop when viewing the edge of the glass from outside. The trim moldings on your car are not designed to conceal the use of

caulk gun type products. I say BS on the glass popping out, you'd shatter the glass long before that butyl tape let's go, the bond on that stuff is incredible.

Back when I used to have glass specialists do my old car windshields, they would only agree to use butyl tape if they put a bead of urethane sealer around

the outer edge after the glass was put in. I let them do it, and the job looked

great till a year later when the windshield started delaminating on the edges from the urethane weeping into the laminate.

From then on I did the job myself.....It isn't hard to do.....you can do it yourself. One more thought....if you are in a crash in an old car that is bad enough for the windshield to pop out, you won't be concerned about it because you won't be alive!

Edited February 27, 2015 by Seafoam65 (see edit history)

[60FlatTop]

I removed the dash cover and masked things off pretty good.

Then we laid then windshield across the hood and applied the butyl seal, blocks were in the kit. We rested the lower center on the cowl and reached around the A pillar with one arm and

TA Da! Slow and patient got it. I pressed it down firmly and then used a spray bottle to look closely for leaks. I had a small wooden stick to work the Butyl if needed. No leaks.

Much better to do it yourself than to put a professional in a position where they have to make excuses.

Bernie

[1965rivgs]

thanks, I talked with a window specialist here and he said they no longer use butyl tape in older cars because if you were to be involved in a accident there is a possibility of the window popping out when using butyl tape. so he says there using a windshield glue. something they use in newer cars, also for insurance reasons. anyone hear of this?

Yes, glass shops now have an eye toward liability associated with the old style butyl tape versus the improved structural strength the modern urethane sealers provide. Probably has to do with some high profile lawsuits reverberating thru the industry more than any practical consideration for your old car. But I have heard this concern from more than a few glassmen,

Tom Mooney