Windshield glass replaced ?

[Pat Hurley]

Anyone here have their windshield glass replaced ? Does the factory have or could they point you in the right direction ?

 

[Fishtales]

Hi Pat,
I believe the windshield was made by TaylorMade. Might be able to reach out to them.

 

[FLWhaler]

Just had a new one replaced on my 228. Odessa FL George can still get the waterbonet (who made them for Taylormade) windshields based on the serial number.

 

[Legend]

http://www.marineglassspecialties.com/HTML/MGS Water Bonnet.html or Taylor Made can get you up and running

 

[Uncle Joe]

I had one fabricated from a template I made for my Offshore.

 

[DennisG01]

If the glass you're talking about is flat, check around for a local glass shop - they can duplicate it.

 

[Pat Hurley]

Mine is intact it just has water spot etching on the port front which has a curve in it. Tried all the different snake oil solutions for removing it and nothing seems to work ... drives me nutz

 

[DennisG01]

Yeah, I really don't know any way of removing it if it's actually etched/pitted. Cover your left eye while driving?

 

[Joe Hurley]

I’ll will be polishing it this weekend with cerium oxide glass polish on the flex 3401 with a rayon pad. I will post before and after pictures.

 

[Denko]

Funny I ran across this thread, I'm in the process of polishing my windshield as well. I have the benefit of the glass being off the boat and in the garage. I've done maybe 2 full passes on the port side glass. The water spots are pretty much gone from the center, still visible near the edges. On mine the spots were heavy and now that they're gone you can see some of the finer scratches on the inside I guess from watches or jewelry or whatever. I did both front pieces by hand last fall, hoping to improve on them as well. I'm using turtle wax polishing compound, and a milwaukee buffer. I'll be interested to see your results with the rayon and cerium oxide, I have them in my amazon cart but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Good Luck!

 

[DennisG01]

Joe & Denko... is glass actually pitted? Can you actually "sand down" the glass? I've used fine steel wool for some hard water staining in the past, but never when it's got to the point of pitting/etching.

 

[glacierbaze]

I've heard for a long time that some get good results removing light scratches by polishing with toothpaste. I guess some is more abrasive than others, at the low end of the abrasive scale.

 

[Denko]

Joe & Denko... is glass actually pitted? Can you actually "sand down" the glass? I've used fine steel wool for some hard water staining in the past, but never when it's got to the point of pitting/etching.

I guess it would have to be etched, the water spots on mine are prominent. I used white scrub pad with simple green, magic eraser, and bronze wool by hand on the front glass. The spots are faint now on those but I'd like to give it another try with the buffer. It seems to have worked on the side so far but still need some more time

 

[Joe Hurley]

Joe & Denko... is glass actually pitted? Can you actually "sand down" the glass? I've used fine steel wool for some hard water staining in the past, but never when it's got to the point of pitting/etching.

Yes, you can actually sand and polish glass. I think the method for the heaviest etching requires Mirka Abralon sanding disks. 180 grit dry, 500 dry, 1000 dry on a rotary polisher. Finish with cerium oxide on a rayon pad.

 

[Doc Stressor]

Cerium oxide glass polish and a small diameter rotary polisher is the ticket. Buying the tools is a lot cheaper than replacing the glass.

Back when I lived in Nevada and fished the highly alkaline water of Pyramid Lake, my windshield would get deeply etched water marks every year. I would start out using Barkeeper's Friend and a sponge to get the rough stuff off. Then I used a Griot's Garage 3" random orbital polisher and 3M cerium oxide polish to finish the job. They now make a 2" backing plate that would do an even better job of getting into the corners. You can do the corners by hand as I did but its a bit of work. I would use Rain-X to seal the finish afterward. It would last a year before the water spots got too bad again.

 

[jigstrike]

Anyone here have their windshield glass replaced ? Does the factory have or could they point you in the right direction ?

Go to a Walmart or auto parts store and get a headlight restorer kit. I did this after I tried everything, it cost me 8 bucks and worked great. My windshield was terrible!

 

[Doc Stressor]

That's a good suggestion. Can't see why that wouldn't work. Maybe skip the first abrasive step though.

 

[Joe Hurley]

Well the cerium oxide on the flex was a bust.