Can't be done, can't cut tempered gl***. all true! but builders get around it all the time. common ways like rear gl*** from a different model or make. big bucks make a new one. lo buck lexan. I do alot of custom work. I'm building a page on my website (don't when I'll get published) for the do it your selfers. this is just a preview. what I do is find a laminated windshield that has the proper curve for the job. this ford happened to fit a 68 full sized ford windshield that I had in stock. Had a HAMB member bring his extreme chopped ford coupe in for a windshield ended up doing the whole car including his curved mailslot rear gl***. I'm going to show 6-10 steps of the 96+ cuts on this back gl***. I started with the original back gl*** laying on the windshield and move it and down till I find the sweet spot. then I mark it with a felt pen.
all the tools required for this job is a gl*** cutter,single edged razor blade, alcohol, and my two hands. and then there is 106 inch wetbelt sander that you might have to get the final finish done by your local gl*** shop. I can't give you my 43 years gl*** expierence but if you try on a junk windshield you'll catch on fast. it really not hard for patterns I use foam backed posterboard that I get at the dollar store. bigger patterns I tape several together. I take the pattern and center it in the sweet spot. then I start getting the extra gl*** gone. at this stage it doesn't matter whether you start your cut on the inside or outside. I cut top to bottom apply pressure on the other side to break the gl***. I cut about 4-6 inches away from the sweet spot to get both ends gone
Most interesting Noname I'm trying to understand how to cut away the unwanted gl*** without screwing up the part I want.Great stuff thanks
the first part is easy and fairly safe. cutting the curve above and below the sweet spot takes a little more pressure and control. when using a new gl*** cutter you want to make several cuts on a s**** to find the right pressure with one even cut. never put a cutter on the raw edge of the gl***. start your cut 1/8 - 1/4 inch from the edge and continue with the same pressure thru the entire cut and off the other end. the score should be clearly visible. if it starts flaking you're appling to much pressure. it's also best to apply a light oil or diesel/kerosene with a small brush before you make a cut. or I use a oil reserve cutter (not necessary just convenient) I listen to the cut for any skips in the score, if I skip I just make another cut for the entire cut about 1/16 inch inside (towards the part I'm trying to save) the first bad score (cut) I like to remove 4-6 inches at a time. I wrap my fingers over the top and apply pressure with my thumbs. cutting on the curve I do the outside first. apply pressure several time from end to end. after the outside is run (cut in cleanly broke from end to end) then flip it over and make the same score (cut) on the inside and run that, again aplly pressure and watch the score open up completely. after it is broke on both side clean. apply some alcohol ( in a safe place as it will drip burning alcohol on the ground, floor, ) and set on fire on the inside of the windshield. repeat this alcohol several times till the lamination stretches easily as you apply light pressure to open the cut line. I apply alcohol as I open the cut as it will disolve the lamination without setting it on fire. I use a single edge razor blade to cut the lamination
you want to end up with 4-5 inches around the original pattern. up till now you have been making straight cuts both verical and horizonal. this is getting down close to the money cut (the only one I get paid for) now I start making smaller cuts to get the square corners off. my goal here is to work my way down to a curve that matches the final cut with 2-3 inches of gl*** that I can use for leverage.
I cut right down to the final size and grind the bumps off. you can sand the bump with a air wheel (60 to 80 grit) and enough water (second person with a spray bottle) to keep it cool. go slowly, if you are doing a flush set instead of a gasket then the bumps make no difference. I'll go over a good flush set on a different post done deal! sometimes the cost of a small piece of gl*** cost more than a large one, I had the best part of a whole day on this job. I've cut corner windows on three piece back gl*** and center one at different size than original. 49 cad out of 60's chrysler windshield. did a side window on a BMW Isetta by flopping the pattern of a good piece. this certainly isn't the only way or even the best way. it's just my way of usinng what I have, to get what I want. hope this is enough to give it a try! I always say two things. "I'm a glazier not a magician" "most things I do, has nothing to do with skill! I'm just not smart enough to know it couldn't be done" Jim Arnold
Great post, I would love to see more post like this here. Thanks for taking the time to share your skills with us.
This is the kind of post that not many people do. Thanks for sharing your skills. Question for you Jim.... I have a chopped 55 Ford Fairlane that i need to cut a windshield for. Could I use the same method you've shown to cut the curved windshield on my 55?
i have used the same trick to make side gl*** when chopping a newer car with tempered windows. people look at you strange when walking around a junk yard with a side gl*** holding it up to windshields.
In one word NO I just finished cutting a windshield for Russ Meeks 55 Crown Vic, it's more involved. How much did you take out? I'm covering that on my website but will probably be a couple weeks to a month before I get it installed.........Jim
exactly have alot of old windshields in stock, I wasted the last AMC Pacer windshield in the known world for a chopped ford truck
I thought I'd add a little here on wrap around windshields . there are many varibles. 1. if you shorten a triangle it doesn't just get shorter it also gets wider. this means the gl*** gets further away from the roof . the 55 that I just finished was only chopped 2 inches. i took 1 1/4 inches off the top and 3/4 inch to 0 inches off the bottom end to the beginning of the wrap. note: not those are not exact numbers I had to cut, grind, fit. cut , grind, fit about six times. but it fit perfect. 2. the radius of the curve might be 3 inches at the top and 12 inches at the bottom. so the more whack it has, the less chance it will fit the roof. 3. this is the biggie! stressed from lamination process. they bend two pieces of gl***. one fits inside the other. in the real world the fit is never perfect, gl*** has a memory. when laminated together one or both are stressed (under pressure) when cut (or hit with a small pebble) it has a tendency to relieve itself. it's very hard to know where the stress is gonna be, usually on a wrap around (like a 55 ford) it will be in the curve (and maybe in one or more other places) I have made a couple tools that help me cut curved gl*** (no patents, so I keep them locked in the vault) but really easier for the layman to try different approach to cutting curved windshields. I've never tried sand blasting but it sounds like a long slow process with only patience involved.
Thanks for the response Jim. I'm not quite sure how much was taken out of the roof as it was done back in the sixties. What I do know is that more than a few inches were loped off. However, I did find a guy that sandblasts windshields for chopped cars. My concern is that the car may have been chopped to much to fit new gl*** in it. I made myself a metal template that fits on the inside of the windshiels opening to see if I can find a sweet spot on an original winshield. What I was also told by Matt Nobles is that a Merc Windshield may be better suited for this cut as they are a little wider than the Fords. When I got the car it had a plexigl*** windshield in it.
I made myself a metal template that fits on the inside of the windshiels opening to see if I can find a sweet spot on an original winshield. What I was also told by Matt Nobles is that a Merc Windshield may be better suited for this cut as they are a little wider than the Fords. When I got the car it had a plexigl*** windshield in it.[/quote] Plexigl*** is never a good sign. tell Matt Nobles that ford and mercury shared the same windshields model for model in 55-56 is yours a hardtop or a post? could you post a photo of the car and the windshield area. that would tell me alot
The only real gl*** the car had when I purchased it was the side gl***. I spoke with the old fella who built the car and he told me that the car had real gl*** all around back in the sixties. Not sure what was used for the back though. A better pic of the back.
Jim, here is mine chopped 1.5" courtesy of Tom Davidson and Photo Shop. How would you handle the windshield? Thanks.
great info..this will come in handy when i am ready to cut the back gl*** for the shoebox,,thank you for posting this......
1.5 inches with the angle of the B-pillar going away from the gl*** and the gl*** going away from the pillar is more like a pyramid than a triangle on the 56 probably take most off the botton corners and very little off the top. and you can probably get a laminated backgl*** and shave a little or just move it up the top a hair
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