Broke My Perfect Windshield

im guessing laminated glass, tempered is impossible to cut.

 

Windshields are laminated tempered glass, not just tempered. As mentioned, tempered glass breaks into thousands of small pieces ... without the plastic inner layer, tempered glass is used for things like sliding glass doors, avoiding long blade-like shards when broken that could impale or slice.

I suspect it would have to be cut to size with a diamond blade (like tile or lapidary), and the edges ground.

 

To add to Tim's post, windshield glass is only lightly tempered to add some strength and scratch resistance, then laminated. If it were tempered to the extent of side and rear windows, a rock chip would shatter the glass and make the windshield impossible to see though, even though the laminate would hold it from falling apart.

 

I have a British sports car that has a tempered, yes tempered windshield. I used to have a Jag MKll that had a tempered windshield too, but it was a right-hand drive car (as is my other sports car), so neither were US spec. The Brits call it toughened glass.
Most modern cars have tempered glass all the way around except the windshield which is laminated. My 50's Willys wagons have side and rear glass that is laminated (and cracked), but my 60's models have tempered glass. I'm guessing the factory change was made around 1960.
Tempered glass is cut and finished as regular glass, then fired (heated) to temper it. I had some custom stair rail panels made and picked them up from Oldcastle where the tempering was done. I will have Oldcastle make some tempered side/rear glass for my wagons out of Solar Green. Once it is tempered, that's it. No more shaping or fitting, unless you want a million pieces.
-Donny

 

The best way to break a piece of glass is to use an old gasket. Always worth the money to get a new one.

 

Contact george baxter at army jeep parts. I recently used one of their weatherstrips on my 1952 m38a1 and it was a breeze to install. The rubber compound is very pliable, unlike some other ones I have seen.

 

Mine was replaced with a sheet of plexi-glass.

 

To the guys who installed their own windshield glass. Did you put the rubber on the glass, then install both in the frame? Or did you put the rubber on the frame and then install the glass?

 

Hmm.. If I remember right I put the rubber on the glass first. I used some tape to hold it in place. Have you seen the string technique?

 

Yes, I have seen the string trick. I have seen differing opinions on what to install first.

 

I have done the string technique on a 63 Corvair....lol. Dish soap in rubber channel (sparingly) string side, rubber on glass....place glass/rubber in top of frame from outside, pull string from inside.

Trick is to run string from center bottom of glass all the way around, so you can pull evenly from both sides when setting rubber.

Thankfully worked.....only took two windshields to get it right on the Corvair.

 

I must be old and lazy . I drive to glass shop . as to what way I would do it . rubber on glass first . string and windex . set glass with gasket on bottom of frame . push on outside and pull string from inside much easier with two guys = 4 hands

 

On a CJ with a lock strip seal you put the seal on the frame, put the glass into the seal and install the lockstrip. Really easy if you have a plastic install tool and the lockstrip tool. If you don't have the tools, it is probably better to go to a glass shop.

 

i use clothesline sized rope and a little soap.and a wooden paint stick makes an excellent window spoon if you go that route, split rubber with a lock bead id go rubber to frame, glass, lock.

 

$150.00 to cut and install the glass while I watched, and all in an hour or a little more. Drove home with a new glass in my Jeep, no scratched paint and a clean new windshield.

 

I installed the rubber on the frame last night, then installed the glass in the rubber. It was really pretty easy. I used a plastic bondo spreader and a screwdriver to work the rubber around with lots of windex. The lockstrip seems to be a bit harder to do. Steve from the 71 build has the lockstrip tool and has done lots of semi windshields. We should get it finished up tonight.