1965 Rehab

[Lance M]

Keep it up Jav,
You are in the window black hole. But, you'll be out soon. Amazing how much time and effort windows can take. You are doing great. It'll all be worth it.

[ND10CentCan]

Originally Posted by marzboy

After three days of dealing with my windows I have learned:
1) Silicone sucks!
2) I am defiantly not a detail person
3) Glass is rarely salvageable
4) It is always much worse than you thought.
So I have two windows complete out of ten (complete with bulb seal), one picture window in out of three installed, four broken frames re welded, five windows siliconed so bad I had to clean each frame three times, all window openings cleaned and prepped for window install and went thru 50' of glazing tape and almost all of my glazing strips. Oh and be careful pressing that glazing strip in to the outside for the window frame. My hands and thumbs are pretty sore!

Just having completed a complete overhaul on all our windows, we can say we understand. It took a lot longer than we expected but I have to admit I liked the cleaning part of each window. I guess it is futzing with each little area that keeps me out of trouble. Now that we are done with that, I am trying to be as interested in getting the 68 tubes worth of silicone someone decided was a good idea off the outside of the windows. That is a royal pain and having tried everything under the sun to get it off, still haven't figured out a good method. I did order some silicone caulk remover from VTS so hopefully that is the magic cure I need. I have run out of fingernails at this point and look like I must chew my nails all the time.

I keep reminding myself that every step completed is one more step closer to camping. Are you going to polish your window frames before you put them back or wait until later? You are doing well and I enjoy watching your progress.
Sandy

[Aerowood]

Originally Posted by tinman54

I also got some of those cleaning wheels like you have on the drill but they didn't seem to do anything for me?

The disc's pictured work better if used in twos and threes and they need better then 10k rpm to really work well. I use a 20k rpm 90 degree die grinder. They are also directional.

[marzboy]

Thanks guys I was wondering if I was just being a baby. I still have to rebuild most of my windows and put bulb gaskets in all but one frame. Any advice? Tips? What steps did you guys take? I had two windows caulked in so bad those took almost one day!
@Sandy that silicone remover from VTS works pretty good. But it is a bit thick, so be patient. Also you may need more than one application. I polished the windows a bit, not sure if I will get to crazy though. Any tips?
@ Kip Thanks by the way for the tool tip. I had to cut into the groove of the window so only one would fit. It worked well on what looked like painters caulking in the window frame. I will try it with my die grinder on the vents and vent covers.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by marzboy

Thanks guys I was wondering if I was just being a baby. I still have to rebuild most of my windows and put bulb gaskets in all but one frame. Any advice? Tips? What steps did you guys take? I had two windows caulked in so bad those took almost one day!
@Sandy that silicone remover from VTS works pretty good. But it is a bit thick, so be patient. Also you may need more than one application. I polished the windows a bit, not sure if I will get to crazy though. Any tips?
@ Kip Thanks by the way for the tool tip. I had to cut into the groove of the window so only one would fit. It worked well on what looked like painters caulking in the window frame. I will try it with my die grinder on the vents and vent covers.

The "bulb" gasket is a waste of time and money.

That's restoring what was thought to be good, 45 years ago. Gaskets have since been far improved.

A far superior gasket is black and is "D" shaped. Seals better and lasts a heck of alot longer.

Also easy to install.

Andy

[marzboy]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

The "bulb" gasket is a waste of time and money.

That's restoring what was thought to be good, 45 years ago. Gaskets have since been far improved.

A far superior gasket is black and is "D" shaped. Seals better and lasts a heck of alot longer.

Also easy to install.

Andy

Unfortunatly I bought a whole bunch of the bulb type. I came across some posts talking about the bulb type vs D shaped. Oh well nexbt time

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by marzboy

Unfortunatly I bought a whole bunch of the bulb type. I came across some posts talking about the bulb type vs D shaped. Oh well nexbt time

I will bet that before the end of 2012, you will have a water leaking window because of that bulb gasket.

It's always good to remember the good ole days, along with the good ole stuff.

But, science and physics still abounds.

Therefore new stuff comes on the market that leaves the old things, way back in the dark.

Small example, light bulbs or how about cars and their stuff, compared to just 10 years ago??

Best idea when repairing things on an Airstream, is to update the type of part, or certainly the quality of parts.

We feel the bulb gasket came over on the Titanic, and should have stayed with it.

Andy

[marzboy]

Windows are a lot of work, period! Going on six days, ten windows. Broke two more frames trying to clean out what looked like painters caulk So I have three windows left to clean, replace glass, and replace glazing. Hope finish next week. Hope that is.....

[Aage]

Hang in there, Marz, it's going to look like it's ready to launch into outer space!

[tinman54]

I spent the better part of a summer trying to get all the windows an vent openings finished, felt like forever!

[worldinchaos]

Originally Posted by tinman54

I spent the better part of a summer trying to get all the windows an vent openings finished, felt like forever!

Agreed. Took forever, and to date, it was the most tiring and frustrating part of my project. I probably shouldn't have counted the pieces like I did, because when you think about 23 pieces of metal/ window times 5 windows times 2 cuts....230 passes on stuff. ugh.

However, re-installing all the trim and seeing it back together really made me feel validated.

Hang in there Marz, it's looking great!

[HiHoAgRV]

Originally Posted by worldinchaos

Agreed. Took forever, and to date, it was the most tiring and frustrating part of my project..!

One more thing on my Dreaded List...

[marzboy]

Glad to see that I am in good company. It is such a time suck, pretty much ....well ..sucks!! I am hopeing to get more done this Sunday, wish me luck!

[3Ms75Argosy]

Hey Marz, just wanted to drop a line and say it's coming along nicely! Learned some new things on how you're doing your windows btw!
Thanks!
Marc

[marzboy]

Originally Posted by 3Ms75Argosy

Hey Marz, just wanted to drop a line and say it's coming along nicely! Learned some new things on how you're doing your windows btw!
Thanks!
Marc

Hi Marc I was wondering where you have been. Thank you, I am inching forward on these windows. I thought that the windows would tough but not this tough. Glad you learned something, it makes my journey worth it. Just got my Fantastic Vents so stay tuned!

[3Ms75Argosy]

FF?? Alright! Did you go with the "curved" inside plastic or the flat. I'm assuming the curved? Yeah.. been MIA but lurking around... lots of family stuff going on. Just need more TIME!

It just occurred to me that I might have driven by you.. went down to So Cal for the weekend two weeks ago to look at colleges for my eldest daughter (Art Center Pasadena, CalARts + USC)... then out to Palm Springs to visit some friends. Duh.. shoulda PM'd you...
Next time!
Marc

[marzboy]

Originally Posted by 3Ms75Argosy

FF?? Alright! Did you go with the "curved" inside plastic or the flat. I'm assuming the curved? Yeah.. been MIA but lurking around... lots of family stuff going on. Just need more TIME!

It just occurred to me that I might have driven by you.. went down to So Cal for the weekend two weeks ago to look at colleges for my eldest daughter (Art Center Pasadena, CalARts + USC)... then out to Palm Springs to visit some friends. Duh.. shoulda PM'd you...
Next time!
Marc

I went with the curved grey plastic because I am going with the all aluminum interior. I figured it would look better than beige or white.
Is your daughter going for design? Cal Arts is great, so is Art center. Not so sure about USC but it is a great school over all.
Absolutly PM me nent time you come down. Maybe we can grab a beer?

[truckasaurus]

MB I might have missed it but are you going to re-install the original tail light clusters; just curious as I was really tempted to pick up a mid 60's trailer and swap the lights out for early 60's units.

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Originally Posted by Top

Keep it up Jav,
You are in the window black hole. But, you'll be out soon. Amazing how much time and effort windows can take. You are doing great. It'll all be worth it.

It always blows me away too. If a client even remotely shows any interest in putting in some sweat, I have em work on the windows. Not hard work, just very time consuming.
I am working on a 61 right now. When the customer first began their project, they replaced all the bulb seal with a "D" molding made of black foam. Three years later it has totally failed. It is crushed down and does not seal any longer. I removed it all. Today 8 hours was spent melting the copious amounts of 3M Weather Strip adhesive that was applied to make a wrong seal fit into the groove. Any residue in that groove will not allow the bulb seal to seat properly. I feel Javier's pain...

[3Ms75Argosy]

So to make an analogy go further.. first the Titantic sank, and then the Costa? I think the bulb seal works better now because of better rubber?
Thanks for your input Frank!

I meant to ask the purpose of the hot knife.. does that make it cut better, or are you sealing the edges of the miter that way?

Sure, I'm up for a beer, or coffee (I'm from the NW you know ).. I'll remember to PM next time! Yes, she's interested in animation in the entertainment industry... traditional or digital. Just wrapping my head around college costs! Whew! Some of these colleges (well, actually all three I visited) I could buy a new 25 foot AS every year!!
Where's my lotto ticket!

Back to the silver...
Marc