• Untitled Document

    Join us on March 29rd, 7pm EST

    for the CBEC Virtual Meeting

    All EYO members and followers are welcome to join the fun and get to know the guest speaker!

    See the link below for login credentials and join us!

    March Meeting Info

    (dismiss this notice by hitting 'X', upper right)

Window tinting advice needed

JPS27

Member III
I'm taking out my portlights for rebedding as most of them leak. I'm only on my first one and experiencing some frustration ... not easy getting that darn thing put back together correctly. So I took a breather so as not to bend or break anything due to lack of patience. While stepping back from the project for a day I wondered if it was worth replacing what looks like very old tinting. Scratches are evident and on one there is a nice gash in the film.

Does anyone have any advice on 1) is retinting worth the time and effort and 2) if so, is there any particular product, tint level etc? Thanks.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I'm taking out my portlights for rebedding as most of them leak. I'm only on my first one and experiencing some frustration ... not easy getting that darn thing put back together correctly. So I took a breather so as not to bend or break anything due to lack of patience. While stepping back from the project for a day I wondered if it was worth replacing what looks like very old tinting. Scratches are evident and on one there is a nice gash in the film.

Does anyone have any advice on 1) is retinting worth the time and effort and 2) if so, is there any particular product, tint level etc? Thanks.

Do you want to re-tint the original lens? Perhaps I am misunderstanding. Most owners, at some point, choose to replace the UV-damaged (or physically damaged) acrylic lens' in their 70's models. The metal frames are, as noted by at least one poster here, "resistant to change". :)
OTOH, one can source thin tinted plastic overlays similar to the ones used on automotive glass. No experience with that, have I.

Usually one buys replacement lenses in tinted plastic, acrylic or Lexan.
Frames I cannot help you with, as our model has external lenses with no framing.
I would note that one of the nicest E-27's in our site splash screen rotation was converted to external lenses and it looks great. "Great"... but not factory original anymore.

If you have some pix, please post them.

Loren
 
Last edited:

G Kiba

Sustaining Member
Yes. Tinting greatly reduces the amount of heat down below in the summer. And it is fairly easy to do once you fix your leaky ports.
I went to TAP Plastics. They sell the materials and a kit to install.
 

JPS27

Member III
Tinting on glass lens

Thanks, Loren. The lens is saftey glass. I can just make out the lettering in the forward section of the piece. I don't recall exactly what it says, but it's glass. Here's a couple of picture. One before extraction. The other post. I figured I would save some money by doing it myself with the least amount of replacing stuff. But I also worry about cracking that glass given how challenging it to get back in. Thus, the time away from the project. :0 I thought perhaps a bit of automotive window tinting might spiff up the otherwise old dawgs.While I like the idea of the other looks you suggested, I don't want to head down any side paths. Sticking to the road I've chosen at this point.

attachment.php
attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • starboard portlight.jpg
    starboard portlight.jpg
    69.8 KB · Views: 71
  • IMG_5667.jpg
    IMG_5667.jpg
    82.9 KB · Views: 48

bigd14

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
You bring up a good point about the safety glass. On my previous E27 the port lights were made from very thick safety glass probably 1/4". I pulled them out, found the gaskets I ordered were too small and just bedded them in the frames with sealant. They were so beefy I did not a worry about breakage. They have not leaked since.

Fast forward 8 years to the current Ericson30+. I pulled one window that looked identical to the old e27 ones, and was surprised to find a much thinner and flimsier safety glass. This has me concerned like you about damaging it upon reinstallation. So I am debating other options.

Option 1 is to reuse existing glass, and hope for the best ( you could use tinted film). Option 2 is to replace with thicker glass (you could use pre-tinted glass). And 3 is to replace with acrylic (which could be tinted). Not sure yet what the right answer is for me. Maybe if I break one of the others removing it the answer will become clear.

Anyway I think you have several options for tinting. If you can get the old tinting off I would be inclined to re-use the existing glass and a film tint and maybe cut some bits of the cabin aways slightly to ease reinstallation. Good luck and let us know what you decide.
 
Last edited:

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Plan C

http://www.boatwindows.com/products/heavy-duty-fixed-window-series-1250/

I know of a Cascade 36 at our YC that had this company (Motion Windows) build new fixed ports for them.
I believe that they used the "thinner" 3/8" glass and did go with a dark tint. That was about a decade ago and they still look like new.
Note that there is a min. radius for the corners, and this might be different than the stock cutout for your Ericson window model.

Choices and Options, as they say.....

Loren
 

JPS27

Member III
Peeling back the tint?

Thanks for posing the question, Christian. That is the $600 question, can I safely pull that tint off without doing damage or otherwise wishing that I had left well enough alone?

With the advice received so far I'm even more determined to make what I have work. I believe the glass is a 1/4" thick but it might be a hair less. If I have to I'll leave the somewhat marred and tired film on the glass. And I thought about using a little (very little) soapy water mixture to help slide the glazing with gasket back into the frame.

Jay
 

alcodiesel

Bill McLean
HRBT crossing

Hey Jay, I stopped my port lights from leaking with Tolleys creaping crack whatever. Please call or text me when you are going to work on her, I'll gladly come over if I am free and lend a humble hand. 757 647 7853
 

alcodiesel

Bill McLean
Someone was mentioning the tint to help keep out heat. Here's what I made from an old car sun shield. I made them for the hatches, too. Keeps 8 million BTUs out (wild guess).
 

Attachments

  • sun shades Valhalla.jpg
    sun shades Valhalla.jpg
    106 KB · Views: 24
  • val sun shade.jpg
    val sun shade.jpg
    89.7 KB · Views: 19
Last edited:

Bill Kitchens

Junior Member
plastic windows

I'm taking out my portlights for rebedding as most of them leak. I'm only on my first one and experiencing some frustration ... not easy getting that darn thing put back together correctly. So I took a breather so as not to bend or break anything due to lack of patience. While stepping back from the project for a day I wondered if it was worth replacing what looks like very old tinting. Scratches are evident and on one there is a nice gash in the film.

Does anyone have any advice on 1) is retinting worth the time and effort and 2) if so, is there any particular product, tint level etc? Thanks.


I change mine out to a 50% shaded Lexan and resealed them.. Held up fine with the hurricane.
 

JPS27

Member III
Recommendations on where to get window tinting?

My window rebedding and reinserting is going well (knock on wood). My anxiety about doing it correctly (noted earlier in the thread) has given way to some level of confidence. The first portlight leaked when I put it back. I traced that back to the seam where the piece is riveted together. I fixed that. I plan on adding to the "how to" knowledge about redoing portlights because there were a few things -- probably obvious to others -- that I learned on my own that could help others. (and BTW, I realized the success won't be worth claiming until after numerous storms blowing in from various directions :rolleyes:).

BUT, for now, my next to last portlight had tinting (as they all did) that did not survive extraction and silicone cleaning processes. Other portlight tinting, while not perfect, was left on to not complicate matters. So, now I do have to retint one piece of glazing. Any suggestions and where to get glazing? You can get it lots of places, I realize. But I"m sure they aren't the same. In fact the tinting on this latest port came off so easily, one might say it was cheap or defective. On the other hand I would really rather be able to go to AutoZone or somewhere and just buy it. Thanks as usual.
 

Randy Rutledge

Sustaining Member
Think about the channel, it is a U that is leaning in, any water that ends up in the channel will spill out to the inside, I drill drain holes in each lower corner on the outside to allow the water that might enter the channel to drain. DO THIS WITH THE GLASS OUT.
 
Top