Degerb Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 I'm in need of a porthole window assy. Does anyone have one they are willing to part with? Mine is completely black and I'm afraid it may break when I try to remove it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemi Dude Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 (edited) This is a laminated window. You can remove the outer piece of glass and not affect the inner glass which is larger in circumference. This is also the piece of glass that is sealed to the inside of the roof. You can pry the outer glass loose by finding an area that is already somewhat loose. I was fortunate to come up with a hard plastic tool used by windshield replacers. You can use a screwdriver or an ordinary table knife or any other implement that can get into the space between the roof and the outer glass. If you are really careful, you won't hurt the top. The wider the blade, the less load against the roof. Using the 'tool' gently and very slowly, pry the glass loose. It may take some time, then again from the sound of what you wrote, it may come out very easily Edited March 23, 2017 by Hemi Dude (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degerb Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 (edited) Thanks Hemi..... I tried a hard plastic tool with WD40 squirted around the glass with modeling clay to help retain the fluid and all I achieved was to bend the tool tip. I really hate to try something metallic although I may be forced in that direction. Last fall I read an article posted on here where someone used a metal reflector, clamp on shop light the size of the porthole glass to soften the adhesive, it then popped off with only a small amount of prying. He neglected to say however, how large of a bulb he used in the light. I am now unable to find that particular post to contact him. Have you heard of this particular procedure?. The same author also had tried placing a porthole glass sandwich in a home oven and heated it to several hundred degrees and the the two pieces just slid apart. Obviously this would only work if the complete glass assy was removed from the top. Edited March 23, 2017 by Degerb word change (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_Blodgett Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Try using a small hand held hair dried on high heat. I would think it would warm it up enough to pry it off. Only a suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Kane Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Kane Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 The bottom picture I used permatex "clear" window sealant and as you can see it's not clear it's foggy. The liquid nails clear seal works great and it's very clear. Good luck and take your time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Kane Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Another note, put a large amount of sealant directly in the center and then push out all the air pockets to to edges. Don't forget to tape it in place atleast over night until the sealant sets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degerb Posted March 25, 2017 Author Share Posted March 25, 2017 Thanks Guys I'll give it a go next week....A couple of questions Turbo(1 What kind of prying tool did you use to remove the Porthole? (2 Your heating unit appears to be a heat gun... what heat setting did you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Kane Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 I used my wife's hair drier just don't tell her that ?! I think a heat gun would be fine at a distance maybe 6" away and try to keep from getting to close to the edges. Might damage the paint otherwise. Google search nylon trim pry bar I'm sure those would work geat. Honestly I used a flat blade screwdriver with pretty light pressure. Left a minor amout of paint damage however I'm painting the top for it didn't matter for me. Might be wise to use painters tape around the outside of the glass or atleast between the pry tool and the paint. Good luck! Be very patient with it and whatever you do don't drop it when it comes off. I think I put something on the ground below in case it popped off and I couldn't catch it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moparite Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 Is this the outer glass(in you hand) or some sort of clear plastic laminate between the two pieces of glass? Most of the TC's i see the port hole window shows signs of delaminating around the edges. Mine is not to bad but it's there and if it can be repaired with out replacing that would be awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Kane Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 That is the dirty factory sealant that ls in between the two pieces of glass. I used acetone on the gold decal attached to the inside glass to remove the rest of the corrosion. The laminate is on the outer glass and the sealant should easily peel off of it by hand. Maybe use slight heat if it's not coming easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degerb Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 Yea! Success! I finally worked up the courage to try to remove the PortHole window from my 90 TC's hardtop. I used a heat gun and a ground down square shanked screwdriver wrapped with some masking tape as a prybar. Since my heat gun was 1500W I was very careful not to get too near the edge of the glass and the edge of the H/T. It only took less than a couple of minutes for it to loosen. Although in retrospect, due to the fact that I had tried previously using WD40 that possibly might have sped up the softening process. Turbo.... did you have any problem working out the bubbles in the sealant in the center? Did you seal the edge gap between the glass and the top itself after the install? Thanks to all you guys for giving me the incentive and encouragement to complete this project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemi Dude Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 You guys may or may not be interested, but I don't ever put the outside glass back in place. The inner glass which is adhered to the inside of the roof is sufficient to keep water out and that is all you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Kane Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 Degerb- My best advise it to put that gob of silicone directly in the center. Close to golf ball size. When you start pressing the two together you'll have some air bubbles and you just keep pressing around and around. If you get a good grip on it moving the glass in a circular motion helps. Just have to be very patient. You'll get it all worked out. The liquid nails silicone may seem hard to get off the paint when it dries. I used some diluted mineral spirits to get it off with ease then hand wax/polish and your good to go. Don't forget to tap the glass in place while it dries over night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaper1 Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 Here's another idea, though a bit more expensive and you need "special tools", but what about using a clear UV cured adhesive like what it used to fix smart phone screens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCGuy90 Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Thank you so much for the step by step process! Im getting ready to do mine...wish me luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemi Dude Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 GOOD LUCK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCGuy90 Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Success! my windows are rid of the sealant! im just waiting for it to dry! i would show pictures but i took them on a flip phone.....lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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