Type of plastic forward corner Windows

[Keith Poe]

I wanted to know the type of plastic in an effort to clean them up before tinting

Thanks guys

[Tony Meola]

Keith

Novus plastic polish should work.

[Pete Fallon]

Keith,
The curved windows on the 31'Bertrams area made out of Plexi-Glass about 3/8" thick. I cleaned mine up with Plexi glass cleaner that I got at the big box store. Mine were badly crazed at the bottoms because the pillow blocks had dried out over the years allowing the plexi to contact the thru bolts. New ones will cost you around $600 t0 800.00 I had them made at a company in Boston called Multi-Fab . I had all 4 curved panels done for my 1961 express cruiser back in the mid 90's it cost me $800 back them. The biggest problem was the crazing at the bottom of the panels goes all the way thru the material if the thru bolts come in contact with the plexi holes. You MUST USE pillow blocks made out of rubber to keep the plexi away from the aluminum and thru bolts, The windows are all a little different depending on the year of the boat. As much as a 1/4 to 3/4" in size in the upper corners, which can be sanded to fit if needed. The bolts that hold them in place are T-BOLTS used to hold toilet bases in place. you can get them in brass or if you can find then in stainless steel. My aluminum frames were in good shape so I didn't have to replace any of the aluminum. Use the correct color window frame adhesive that byou can buy at auto supply houses it's made by GE . If the holes get too elongated you can use JB Weld to fill them in and re-drill. I isn't that bad of a project as long as you take you time and the correct T bolts and bedding material thickness. Some of the guys used tinted black Lexan but I wanted to keep the boat as original as possible plus it lets a lot of light into the cabin. I think American Glass in Florida does them also.
Pete Fallon

[Rawleigh]

Keith: A Micro Mesh plastic polishing kit is what you want. This is how they clean and repair aircraft windows. You sand it up to 12000 grit and then polish.

http://www.drainplugmagnets.com/magneti ... gshome.php

http://micro-surface.com/images/product ... itInst.pdf

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/c ... eshstd.php

[Harry Babb]

A good replacement for the brass "Tee Bolts" is 1/4-20 Stainless SteelCarriage Bolts.
They are inexpensive..... But to use them they must be modified by grinding the OD of the head down to a point even with the "Square" on 2 sides 180 degrees apart..... Then a slight amount off of the thickness of the head..very easy and not very time consuming.....

[scot]

A good replacement for the brass "Tee Bolts" is 1/4-20 Stainless SteelCarriage Bolts.
They are inexpensive..... But to use them they must be modified by grinding the OD of the head down to a point even with the "Square" on 2 sides 180 degrees apart..... Then a slight amount off of the thickness of the head..very easy and not very time consuming.....

Hi Harry... you just described how to make a commode flange bolt. :-)

[34Hatt]

How are you going to tint them you can't use the stick on film with plastic.
Been told by multiple tint guys it won't work never did find out why?

[Tony Meola]

How are you going to tint them you can't use the stick on film with plastic.
Been told by multiple tint guys it won't work never did find out why?

I have seen them with the tint put over them. Never asked how long it lasted. I did my side windows, worked ok for a number of years then bubbled. If you have them out, and are going to get new ones, buy tinted. The only way to go if you do not have curtains.

[Keith Poe]

Hey guys thank you all very much for all your help

Windows are still in im not removing them

I have 600 & 1200 grit sandpaper and a electric buffer

Guy said keep it under 1800 rpm

Good to know about tinting i will look in to it

Thanks again

[mike ohlstein]

Hi Harry... you just described how to make a commode flange bolt. :-)

I used the brass tank bolts, but they were really too soft. You can't tighten anything past finger tight or you'll snap a few off and have to remove the whole deal and start over. Plus, there is usually bimetallic corrosion where the original bolts were.... and since you have little choice but to line it all up the way it came out, you're best off if you can have the heads just slightly oversized so as to catch a little more flange. It might take a bit of oiling to slide them in, but it will be worth the effort. I'm with Harry on this one. Start with square head stove bolts and grind them. Apply Tef-gel or marine grade anti-seize to the entire bolt, heads and threads.

[Pete Fallon]

Mike & Harry
When I did my replacement curved windows I didn't have access to a good bench grinder. Holding carriage bolts with vise grips and using a hand grinder was a little dangerous. I could not find SS T bolts back then. A bronze wire wheel helps with cleaning up the holes in the frames if your taking the apart. Another though about just cleaning the plastic is headlight cleaner kits. it might work if they aren't too far gone.
Pete Fallon

[Keith Poe]

Ok the sanding and buffing does work on the trial run

The tinting that was on the back of one of the windows was nearly impossible to get off

Do not use acetone it will fracture the plexiglass

[Keith Poe]

https://www.windowtint.com/collections/ ... indow-film

[Tony Meola]

Keith

I would think trying to get a neat job on the curve is a bear.

[Keith Poe]

Hey Guys i talked to the tinting place in San Diego that offers plexietint
It's no for marine it mounts outside the glass and will was off

[Keith Poe]

Watch "31-Bertram Grind" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/EcVGPLc5kx0

[Pete Fallon]

Keith,
Why don't you just paint m on the outside to match the deck color. Light color still always light in cabin.
Pete Fallon

[Keith Poe]

Hello Pete

I was going to paint everything London fog color gelcoat on the rails and inside

Im leaving the outside yellow for this season

Next season it will be painted black

Hoping the black hull and London fog color { very light Gray } will look good with all the black vinyl and dark windows

[Pete Fallon]

Keith,
Just remember that the hull has to be almost perfect, lot's of prep work and long boarding, surface must free of any divots and gel coat swirls sanding dust and love bugs. I know from experience. Also the darker the hull color the harder it is to keep clean.
Pete Fallon

[Dug]

Holy Crap Keith. I thought Alchemy had a lot of holes.

You have my full respect. Wow.

[Keith Poe]

Yes She is very holy lol

Maybe I will paint her flat black LOL

[Keith Poe]

Watch "31' Bertram Bulkhead Remodel" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/s3xc8UDiWTQ

This video is from prefitting fitting the bulkheads

I was able to close all the holes today with cabosil and biaxial

[Keith Poe]

Watch "31-Bertram" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/XzZNAQJ0qbM

[ranjr13]

After reading this thread of posts, and others in the sandbox, we put replacing cabin front corner and opening windows as one of many projects this winter. The side sliding windows are in good shape, so will get cleaned up and tinted. The front corner windows were crazed, scratched, faded and don't appear to have been tinted. The front glass opening windows had worn tinting film and some scratches. Both corners and flat front opening windows were removed, and taken to the shop recommended by Pete Fallon, Multifab Plastics in Boston. David perfectly matched the corners and front flat windows, and did all four in a dark smoke tint - in the material, so no film.

My dad prepped all the original frames - they came back quite well, along with the hardware. Yesterday we got the first corner in place - fit like a glove, inside the recessed frame so they won't contact the through bolts. Lining up the movable t-bolts is a job, especially when all gooped up. More pics of interior when painting done, teak trim added/varnished, and new teak/holly floor in. Nice having a retired ship's carpenter working on it in his barn all winter....


Original starboard front cabin corner window, previous owner reg numbers etched in it, plus crazed, slight cracking - just looking tired.

Starboard front cabin corner frame prepped for replacement window.

New corner window in place.

[Tony Meola]

Bob

Did you use silkaflex to bed them? Be interested hearing how long the sealant holds up before they start leaking. I think this is a spot that really twists. I know we did ours and it held for about 5 years then it started in all over again. UGh!

[Carl]

Ok the sanding and buffing does work on the trial run

The tinting that was on the back of one of the windows was nearly impossible to get off

Do not use acetone it will fracture the plexiglass

That may be the problem using regular tint on plexi...very difficult to remove.

That said, My side window was lexan from day I bought. I tinted mine many times. I did find it was more difficult to get perfect, bubble free....which I found a great way to take care of. I tinted inside and out...nice and dark...if bubbles formed you could not see them. Downside of tinting outside with regular tint...it does not last as long. Every two years it was removed and redo. The glass was easy to remove...the Lexan took some play time...but I always got it done.

[Stephan]

Bob-
Thanks for posting this update.
My corner windows are beyond buffing out and I have been considering this job.
Any guidance on the amount of time they took to produce the windows and the expense if it is not improper to ask is appreciated.
Best,
Stephan

[ranjr13]

Tony - bedded with Sudbury Elastomeric Marine Sealant clear. Good stuff and it can be sanded/painted along with frames. While the corners don't have any of the bedding exposed, the flat front opening windows do, so that will all be gray/silver along with the frames. http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... id=1478220

Stephan - $400 per corner, took about 4 weeks but I was in no rush. They might be able to do quicker. They like to match up to old window so they're extremely close in measurements. Ours required very little sanding to fit exactly into place. If you had a problem getting yours out to match, they do have my old ones in storage just in case I needed another made if we did any damage to them, so technically they could reproduce either corner from our 1964 windows that are at their facility now. The quality appears to be really good. Hard to see in, easy to see out, fit like a glove. Protective paper coating on both sides for shipping/transport.

Bob

[Carl]

Tony - bedded with Sudbury Elastomeric Marine Sealant clear. Good stuff and it can be sanded/painted along with frames. While the corners don't have any of the bedding exposed, the flat front opening windows do, so that will all be gray/silver along with the frames. http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... id=1478220

Stephan - $400 per corner, took about 4 weeks but I was in no rush. They might be able to do quicker. They like to match up to old window so they're extremely close in measurements. Ours required very little sanding to fit exactly into place. If you had a problem getting yours out to match, they do have my old ones in storage just in case I needed another made if we did any damage to them, so technically they could reproduce either corner from our 1964 windows that are at their facility now. The quality appears to be really good. Hard to see in, easy to see out, fit like a glove. Protective paper coating on both sides for shipping/transport.

Bob

That's not bad...it might have to be my next years project...except I have 4 corners to replace being an Express.

[ranjr13]

Ours is also an express. Luckily the upper corners were done by the previous owner not long ago. Best of luck if you tackle them.

[Stephan]

Bob-
Thank you.
Stephan