[rusty Z]

my car is coming back from paint and I need to put the front and back glass in. I talked to NAPA and they told me that they carry a 3M product on a roll and a Martin SR roll (NAPA private label). Has anyone here had any experiences with them and also what size should I get, 5/16" or 3/8" ? Thanks for any advice, I've never put glass in before so any tips would be appreciated.

 

[gene_sc]

use the 3m® if orginal glass use 5/16 if repo (thinner) glass use the 3/8.
get some 3m® window-weld primer as well, it makes the butyl tape stick to glass and body. What I do is dry fit the glass (put some alignment marks on body so you can set the glass centered the 1st try), then put masking tape about 1/4" away from edge of glass, brush the primer on the glass, pull tape then put the butyl tape on the glass seam at bottom center. It helps to warm up the tape with a heat gun ect. then you and helper set the glass, using the alignment marks you made. If the glass is not centered you can "move" it a small amount, by slaping your palm on it as you push or pull it into place.

 

[rusty Z]

use the 3m® if orginal glass use 5/16 if repo (thinner) glass use the 3/8.
get some 3m® window-weld primer as well, it makes the butyl tape stick to glass and body. What I do is dry fit the glass (put some alignment marks on body so you can set the glass centered the 1st try), then put masking tape about 1/4" away from edge of glass, brush the primer on the glass, pull tape then put the butyl tape on the glass seam at bottom center. It helps to warm up the tape with a heat gun ect. then you and helper set the glass, using the alignment marks you made. If the glass is not centered you can "move" it a small amount, by slaping your palm on it as you push or pull it into place.

Do you use any tools like the suction cup handles? I would have a 1/4" primer trim around the outside edge of the glass correct? It sounds like you were putting the adhesive on the glass then, is that right?

 

[Dayton68Z28]

Do you use any tools like the suction cup handles? I would have a 1/4" primer trim around the outside edge of the glass correct? It sounds like you were putting the adhesive on the glass then, is that right?

Lots of pair of hands are nice. What really helps is to have someone inside the car supporting the glass. The two outside people would then ease the glass in place VERY carefully. For my back window, we positioned the sealer in the channel around the window. VERY sticky. Once the glass makes contact with the sealer, almost impossible to reposition.

 

[JimM]

I "helped" a pro do mine, he used the suction cups. With one of us on each side, it was a breeze to drop it right where it needed to be.

 

[gene_sc]

Do you use any tools like the suction cup handles? I would have a 1/4" primer trim around the outside edge of the glass correct? It sounds like you were putting the adhesive on the glass then, is that right?

Suc cups.. if no one is around to help, or if I need to move glass a little to center it. Dry fitting it and marking possition on body helps alot.
Tape on glass yes, some guys like to put it on the body, but I put it on the glass so I can put it out as far as it can go. On the body you might place it where it doen't contact the glass fully.
1/4-3/8 of window weld primer around glass any wider and you will be able to see if around the chrome trim. But using tapr for a clean line makes it look nice.

 

[rusty Z]

Thanks for all of the advice. I'll pick up some tape from NAPA and go for it.
Matt

 

[rcatalano]

I used repo glass for both front and rear. I bought both 3/8" and 5/16" because I wasn't sure which size I needed. When I test fit the glass, I used some spacer blocks that were the same size as the adhesive so I could test fit the window molding before actually setting the glass. What I didn't want was the trim to ride either too high or too low. It turns out, that the best fit for me was using 5/16" on the front and 3/8" on the back.