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11 meter new radius window!

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 8:49 pm
by Jimmy
Thought I'd post the new corner windows on the 11 meter. The picture shows the old cracked and faded, and the new is all in and crystal clear. Used lexan custom made to match the old ones. A bit pricy, but look great.
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Re: 11 meter new radius window!

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 10:43 pm
by Barrie
The new lexan looks good,
How did they duplicate the shape? did they use the old window as a mold?
I have to replace my visor on my try fly and was curious how to duplicate the shape

Re: 11 meter new radius window!

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 10:41 am
by Jimmy
Thanks, and yes, I brought them the originals, they made exact replicas ( but with Lexan). Had them made by Pro Glass in Illinois.

He had them done in less than a week. Fit perfectly. I also replaced the butyl rubber tape, and put in all new edging obtained from Taylor Made. A chore, but worth it.

Re: 11 meter new radius window!

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 11:07 am
by BobCT
Replacing all of my rubber window trim is on my to do list. I repolish my corner with a headlight polishing kit every few years so I'm not at the replacement stage yet.

On the trim, how were you able to make the miters at the corners? Seems like it would be hard to get nice tight joints without some sort of "jig". Maybe I'm overthinking it...

Bob

Re: 11 meter new radius window!

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 1:38 pm
by Jimmy
You are correct on the trim. I used a VERY sharp razor knife to cut the trim. You can never get it perfect, so my plan is to seal this with black rtv caulk. I did cut the trim slightly longer than it needs to be. This is for two reasons. 1. I assume the trim will shrink with age like the original did. 2. The extra length allowed the corners to push tightly together and make a nice tight fit. A friend once told me when building a house "do your best, caulk the rest". I dont really like to live by that motto, however there are times when it is used. This is one of those times. Hoping to find an adhesive vs caulk, but for now it is pretty snug.

The new windows made an incredible difference. I didn't realize how bad the originals were until replaced. They were beyond polishing. They were full of micro cracks, and large stress cracks.

By the way, I bought like 100 ft of the trim rubber. Gonna replace the glass window trim as well. So hope we both have success with that.

Re: 11 meter new radius window!

Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 2:22 pm
by WayWeGo
Jimmy wrote:Hoping to find an adhesive vs caulk, but for now it is pretty snug.
How about 3M Weatherstrip Adhesive like used on automobile windshields? You can get it in black. http://www.amazon.com/3M-08008-Black-We ... B00063X38M

Re: 11 meter new radius window!

Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:40 pm
by Jimmy
I already have the weather strip, just need to seal up the jounts. Hoping to find a quality adhesive that works on the rubber/vinyl.

Re: 11 meter new radius window!

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 11:04 am
by WayWeGo
The link I gave is to an adhesive designed to work with weatherstrip, but it did not seem to work, so I updated it. Should be working now!

Re: 11 meter new radius window!

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 4:59 pm
by Jimmy
Ok thanks, ill check it out!

Re: 11 meter new radius window!

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 6:17 pm
by Jimmy
Taylor made reccomended NOT to use an adhesive..... They said melt it together, when they supply windows with trim, that is what they do. So..... First a test piece. Plan is to use a very thin chunk of sheet metal, heat it with a hand torch, pull up both corners of the seam from the window, cover the lexan with MULTIPLE layers of tin foil, (suckers were expensive), and hold the corners at the same time against the metal as close to their location as possible to "wet" the ends, this should give the right angle being they are in contact with the hot metal at the same angle, then pull away, and press the corners together and let cool. Once corners are 'one', then stuff the corner in it's place first, and work each section in working away from the corner, remember, I left the material long to allow for some shrink as it ages. It does stretch and compress to some degree.

Ill let you know how that goes....

Re: 11 meter new radius window!

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2018 3:57 pm
by glen
I have a 1990 12 meter and am trying to find replacement corner windows ,mine have hazed out, so I guess they are Lexan. Do you have a source? Glen

Re: 11 meter new radius window!

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 11:36 pm
by Jimmy
Sorry for late reply, read farther up the post. Pro glass in Illinois. Google it as I am not home to supply contact info. Windows still look like new