windscreen question

[dbache]

Hi Guys,
On most modern cars where the windscreen is bonded direct to the body frame, the windscreen has a black edging that covers the bonding area not only for cosmetics but also to protect the silicon bonding from ultra violet.Has anybody got a good method of applying a black strip around the screen or do you all protect this area by a rubber moulding?
cheers
Dave

[FRPGUY]

Dave, Most glass installers I've seen work use a 'butle' (sp) material not silicon. They heat the material up to 180 degrees F. They know just how much to put on the flange from pactice. I've seen a number of different width "T" shaped moulings to finish off the installation to cover the gap between the car and glass.
I got involved with this process when we were fitting the screen to the Factory Five Racing's Cobra Daytona Coupe. It's really called the FFR Type '65 Coupe. Hope this helps.

[Mike Dozier]

I've never seen modern windshield adhesive
fail (or leak) due to UV, not to mention the
fact that a GT40 will never have enough exposure hours sitting in the sun.
These cars spend 99% of their life in a
garage.

The black border serves to hide the "icky" look of the sealant around the flange.
Same look as the black border on the headlight covers. There is a thread about various paint/methods to do this.

MikeD

Dave, I am surprised that you have a windscreen without the black strip. A fellow here in the states had ~100 made in South Africa and they have the blackout strip. It is my understanding that the strip is applied to the flat glass and that it gets baked on during the forming process. (This my apply to the polycarbonate/acrylic windows only-- I am not sure.)

I did start a thread on how to apply the black strip to polycarbonate/acrylic because I was making my own rear window. I used a paint designed for vinyl so that it would bond to the material since I was not going to shape the window. I am not sure what would be the best paint for glass, but I bet if you contacted some sign shops, they would. Many of these guys still do the painting onto glass and should know what you need. Doing polycarbonate or acrylic is made easier since one can use the plastic protective covering as a mask. The sign guys should be able to tell you the best masking material as well. One note on the S.A. windscreens: their strip was 3/4" all the way round the periphery. I do wish they had made it wider along the bottome edge. If you take note of most windscreens today, you will see that the bottom is usually 1 1/2" or more wide.