Replacing windshield

93 posts in this topic

Posted

I hope this Lexan is not directional. I would hate to waste a bunch of this Polycarbonate 

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Posted (edited)

I think you'll be fine either way you put it. Is that smoked or grey lexan? I looks like the stuff I got form Wicks Aircraft. Looken good keep at it

Edited by TJay

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Posted

The old stuff was smoked. The new it not. Thanks 

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Posted

While your screen is out consider painting or wrapping satin black vinyl around the 2struts from your dash top as these reflect on the screen and can ruin some photos.

I took your advice and painted the two down tubes. Now to get the windshield back in. Thanks again for the suggestion Dusty. 

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Posted

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A6635129-C3DB-45EA-A874-8F434EDA38E4.jpeg

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Posted

The windshield is done. I’ve tried to post photos last night and this morning and for some reason they load then it throws up an error. This has been happening a lot lately. Sometimes I try it several times they all of a sudden the photo will load. Any ideas?

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Posted

No idea on the photos, never had that issue. Nice work on the windshield. The way it looks you will be flying before me. :)

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Posted

She already flew TJay. I’m just replacing the windows because the previous owner covered it with a tarp and ruined the windshield. I accidentally painted the side windows too. Tried cleaning them but made it worse. 

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Posted

0873DE6B-A15B-4CA1-BD91-A0F749A9541F.jpeg

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Posted

AF540B80-DC46-4001-8190-AA5CAEDCE6AA.jpeg

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Posted

The windshield is done. I’ve tried to post photos last night and this morning and for some reason they load then it throws up an error. This has been happening a lot lately. Sometimes I try it several times they all of a sudden the photo will load. Any ideas?

One of our members had that problem a while back - I can hardly turn on or know almost nothing about the puter or site, but one of our other members got one of his photos somehow and discovered that they had too many "pixels" - anyway, too big for site - so he reduced them in order to post them.  Donno if this helps or what to do about it.  EDMO

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Posted

Apprently I fixed the camera issue. My camera had a HDR on the screen. I turned that function off and now they load fine. 

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Posted

Apprently I fixed the camera issue. My camera had a HDR on the screen. I turned that function off and now they load fine. 

Yep - Guess "Too many Pixies" whatever that is!  Ha!  EDMO

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Posted

0873DE6B-A15B-4CA1-BD91-A0F749A9541F.jpeg

the plan is two uncover the lower half of the doors and make them full Lexan. It this center support bar common?

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Posted

You can see here that whomever put these doors together had a hard time staying center of the tube. If I put all lexan on these doors that’s not going to look good :wacko:

31D4A75A-EAA0-4A2C-AB4A-95E1EEF8F7FA.jpeg

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Posted

While I had the winshield apart I decided to remove the old dash cover and put something else on. Got this at JoAnn Fabric for $3.00. It’s trunk liner.  It’s also used to cover speaker boxes. One can of 3m spray adhesive and I was in business. 

 

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Is that a rotax 912  I see?

Yes Jared it is a 912. :)

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Posted (edited)

Turns out that center bar was aluminum and it was glued in place. I was able to knock both bars out easily.

The holes around the bottom of these doors are so bad out of alignment that I'm going to weld them up and re-drill new holes. I guess since he could not see through the outer metal skin that he just drilled whoever he saw fit. 

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Edited by rvsimons

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Posted

I plan to fit the old lexan and outer aluminum skin together with clecos and use that for a pattern. Once I get the new lexan fitted and drilled with new holes I will take the frames out and tig weld the old holes shut. Once that done the frame will go out the powder coater for a new shiny white coating. It should look good when finished. 

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Posted

If you wanted to cheap out with less work, you could just repaint the frames and use the two-sided black tape Kitfox recommends for installing windows. A rivet in each corner and you're done, the tape would cover the holes and nobody but you would know!

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Posted

Interesting.  Do you know where you can get this tape?

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Posted

Thanks Joey. 

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Posted

When I mounted the windows on my recent Avid rebuild, I put some foam weather stripping on the tubes and then attached the lexan.  I have a few extra holes in the doors, and they were hidden by the foam.  Foam was 1/8" x 3/8".  Probably cost me about $5 to do both doors.  I drilled the holes in the lexan, clecoing the holes as I went along, and when all the holes were drilled I chamfered the holes, applied the foam to the doors, and then put the windows in place.   I just used gray foam, but maybe you could find white.  They do sell a double sided white foam tape that is made sticky on both sides, but it cost a good bit more than the weather stripping.  JImChuk

 

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Posted (edited)

Haha, Joey beat me to it. If you go this route, another neat trick is to paint a black edge on the inside of the window face maybe 1" or so in from the frame edge all around under where the frame tubing will mate. Also under the horizontal brace tube. This will literally make the tape disappear, provide a nice sharp outline and eliminate any aesthetic uglies like inadvertent wiggles due to less than straight tape application or other install difficulties. That tape gives you one shot at positioning the plastic, it is very sticky.

[edit] Or I suppose you could use white paint, dunno if the tape would show thru though.

Edited by dholly
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Posted

Haha, Joey beat me to it. If you go this route, another neat trick is to paint a black edge on the inside of the window face maybe 1" or so in from the frame edge all around under where the frame tubing will mate. Also under the horizontal brace tube. This will literally make the tape disappear, provide a nice sharp outline and eliminate any aesthetic uglies like inadvertent wiggles due to less than straight tape application or other install difficulties. That tape gives you one shot at positioning the plastic, it is very sticky.

[edit] Or I suppose you could use white paint, dunno if the tape would show thru though.

Doug,  Is just any rattle-can paint OK for Lexan, or do you use something special for it?  EDMO

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