Curved Double Pane Window Repair

[amurfey]

I am working on fixing up a 1972 Safari Land Yacht (23') that has mold and condensation in between the panes of the two front, curved windows. It also looks like the rubber gasket around the glass is sagging down from the top between the panes.

Pics attached...

Is it possible to remove, clean and replace these windows, rather than buying replacements? Are replacement gaskets available to reseal the windows?

thanks for any suggestions.

[aquinob]

Just did it, not the most fun job in the world. Take a looksee here, about half way through: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f46/...or-127619.html

[Lumatic]

Yes it possible, but a lot of work. After drilling out all the rivets and removing the window you split the frame do your clean up and then reassemble. You probably will not be able to reuse the vinyl gasket so you will have to float the panes in Vulkem caulk.

Other years from 1970 to 1975 will fit if you can find a used one. I'm not sure about the 72s but the 71 window pane is very thin and breaks easy. The 75 is much thicker.

Another thing people have done is carefully break out the inner pane carefully using a center punch to fracture the glass. Then just fill the inside window track with Vulkem.

[amurfey]

Thanks for the ideas guys. I'm leaning towards breaking out the inner pane of glass and just going with a single pane. I don't see a real downside in that approach, and it looks like it will be a lot less work and potential complications.

[Belegedhel]

I rebuilt my double panes as a single pane, but as above, it is a lot of work. Do a search for "wing window rebuild" and you will find my thread. Another option that is sometimes recommended is to carefully drill a hole from the inside, up through the aluminum frame and through the sealant to end between the panes, to make a breather for the interior of the window. This will at lease let the moisture out, though there will still be funk growing in there. Danger in doing this, is you run the risk of breaking a window pane, and it would as likely be the outside one as the inside one.

good luck!

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by amurfey

Thanks for the ideas guys. I'm leaning towards breaking out the inner pane of glass and just going with a single pane. I don't see a real downside in that approach, and it looks like it will be a lot less work and potential complications.

A spring loaded center punch is what I would use to fracture the inner pane without damaging the outer pane. When you punch it the whole tempered glass pane should spider web.

[Tom Nugler]

Doing research before I rebuilt my wing windows I found there were 3 different types of windows used up to the '73 trailers.
It is possible to remove the outer glass and clean everything up without drilling out all the rivets on the earlier windows. If you can seperate the frames its fairly easy to reseal the windows.
Here's the link to how I did mine.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f454...ir-123701.html

Good luck,
Tom

[amurfey]

Tom - thanks. Great job on your repair work. I am going to take a closer look at my situation and decide if this approach makes the most sense for me. Unfortunately the AS is a 4.5 hour drive to N. WI and I can only work on it intermittently for a few days at a time :-( ... I may hold off on this window repair until I can get the trailer to a location closer to home. I'm concerned about having the window frame open to the elements while I'm not there.

[Bowmans]

Amurfey,
Were you able to make any progress on this? We did the simpler, break out interior pane in ours. We used a Dremel with a cutting disc to break the inside pane and it worked well. Here is our blog entry on it if it helps.

Prep for painting inside - Airstream Forums

[amurfey]

Very nice job. I haven't tackled the windows yet. Was debating which approach I want to take, and didn't rush into it. I have been working on some other things - replacing the Univolt, and some floor repairs. The campground where the trailer is located, is closing up for the season, so I will not be able to get back to it until next Spring.