michelle Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 i have been able to remove glass from rebuilders without breaking or cracking them just by poping it out or by freezing it but sometimes neither works and the glass just does not want to come out without breaking which is not good when you don't have any extra glass to replace it with does anyone else have any other methods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SfanGoch Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 If the front and rear glass is connected by runners, you can use flexible stainless scribers and/or saws to remove the whole thing at once. Using the scriber or saw blades, score underneath the runners parallel to the roof. You should be able to cut through far enough to stick a flat chisel blade under the runners and pop the glass off. If the glass is glued to the front/rear frames, use the pointed scriber blade and gently score between the glass and frames, maintaining the blade in as much a parallel angle relative to the glass ass possible. The PE blades are extremely thin and flexible; so, don't worry about breaking them. After a few passes, the glass can be popped out with little or no damage to the window trim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 If the glass is glued in all the way around, leave it in when you strip the paint. You might get lucky and find the glass was cemented to a painted surface; removing the paint will break the bond. Even if the model is not painted, a trip through the strip tank can help soften some glue bonds enough to get you started. Best bet, though, is to figure out how bad the damage is before buying. If the glass is really glued in, the project had better be cheap, unless it's something really hard to find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Michelle, you have been growing your skills with every build! If you need glass, front or rear, for any kit, I think you are up to making it from sheet plastic. When I say "sheet plastic", that can be anything from a Coke bottle, to any product packaging, all the way to buying Evergreen brand sheets. It's not that hard, especially if you have ruined glass to use as a template. Here's a few items that will help. The Recollections brand tape is a scrap book item. It's available at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc. It's thin clear double sided tape that I use to install windshields. Once you have your window taped in, then go around the edges with the Micro Kristal Klear. Between the two products you should be able to hold your new window in place, even maintaining the curves when using flat plastic sheet for starters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Getting out badly glued in kit glass in a body is NO fun! I had that daunting task when I bought a '74 Corvette rebuilder and I didn't see how bad it was till of course it got here to me. Bad enough that there were very visible sink marks in the roof! I was able to get the glass out, but not without damage to the glass, and the aftermath on the underside of the roof. I eventually ended up getting out my Dremel and grinding out the rest of the runner that was stuck. A bit time consuming, but I got it cleaned up. I then did as Tom suggested and made my own glass. The front was tricky as the curves are different top to bottom, so I ended up vacuforming that. The rear glass I was able to make using a piece of clear stencil sheet you can get at the Arts and Crafts store. Easy enough as that was a simple flat piece. I have to echo what Mark said though.........you can save yourself a LOT of grief if you can get builtups that do not have bad glass. I've even passed up what would be rare kits because the glass was put in so badly. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michelle Posted July 21, 2019 Author Share Posted July 21, 2019 thank you all for all the sugestions and tips sometimes i have no way to check the condition outside the pictures the person gives me of it and some rebuilders i buy just for parts for other rebuilders like wheels and tires or chrome or hood or engines or interior parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 I know you said you tried freezing, but here’s a tip that I recently picked up... soak the kit in water before you freeze it. The water gets into all the tiny gaps, and when it freezes, it expands slightly and pops the parts apart. Apologies if you already do that, but I only learned it recently... best, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 On 7/20/2019 at 6:44 PM, SfanGoch said: If the front and rear glass is connected by runners, you can use flexible stainless scribers and/or saws to remove the whole thing at once. Using the scriber or saw blades, score underneath the runners parallel to the roof. You should be able to cut through far enough to stick a flat chisel blade under the runners and pop the glass off. If the glass is glued to the front/rear frames, use the pointed scriber blade and gently score between the glass and frames, maintaining the blade in as much a parallel angle relative to the glass ass possible. The PE blades are extremely thin and flexible; so, don't worry about breaking them. After a few passes, the glass can be popped out with little or no damage to the window trim. I have been looking for a curved-edge razor saw like this for YEARS. I just ordered three sets of these. Will let you know how they work. If they do what I want, they will be My New Favorite Modeling Tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SfanGoch Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 I already know how they work. I've been using these for years. The saws and scriber blades are going to be your favorite tools. Using the saw blades to remove delicate parts from the sprue is much better than using sprue cutters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 1 hour ago, SfanGoch said: I already know how they work. I've been using these for years. The saws and scriber blades are going to be your favorite tools. Using the saw blades to remove delicate parts from the sprue is much better than using sprue cutters. I've been removing parts from sprues with a regular Xacto razor saw for about three decades now. I'm sure these will be even better. The curved-edge saw seems like such an obvious idea I'm surprised that there haven't been MANY of them on the market for years. I tried to make one some time back by grinding teeth on the edge of a scalpel-type blade with a Dremel cutoff wheel. It kinda sorta worked. I ordered THREE sets of these because, you KNOW, if something's any good, they'll stop making it. Thanks again for posting these. By this time next week you could very well be My New Favorite Person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SfanGoch Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Rich, the saw blade and scriber tips' kerf is only .30 mm. That is a super thin cut/scribe line. If anyone is interested in the saws/scribers, you can get them from UMM-USA. John Vojtech is a great guy to do business with; and he carries a lot of useful tools and supplies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatz4u Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 I use mineral spirits & an artist brush, & let it soak...works most of the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 3 hours ago, SfanGoch said: If anyone is interested in the saws/scribers, you can get them from UMM-USA. After a certain amount of google-effort, that was the only US source I found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 On 7/23/2019 at 2:33 PM, Snake45 said: I've been removing parts from sprues with a regular Xacto razor saw for about three decades now. I'm sure these will be even better. The curved-edge saw seems like such an obvious idea I'm surprised that there haven't been MANY of them on the market for years. I tried to make one some time back by grinding teeth on the edge of a scalpel-type blade with a Dremel cutoff wheel. It kinda sorta worked. I ordered THREE sets of these because, you KNOW, if something's any good, they'll stop making it. Thanks again for posting these. By this time next week you could very well be My New Favorite Person. The saws arrived very quickly but I didn't get around to opening them until two days ago, when I needed one. Was surprised to find that there was only ONE set of the things in the package instead of the THREE I ordered. Went back to UMM-USA; my invoice now says ONE sold and shipped (and billed for). Contacted them and said I ordered THREE and what happened. They got back to me quickly and said they shipped ONE as ordered and I was free to order two more anytime I wanted. Well yes I knew that but now I get to pay their shipping charge again. (Fortunately it's only $4.65--it could be a lot worse. Still....) On the positive side, the saw blade did exactly what I needed to do. I needed something to slip between the windshield and the cowl and separate the two. Both were too fragile to risk any more prying than I'd already tried, and an Xacto blade just wasn't gettin' it done. The thin saw blade solved the problem in about 20 minutes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris Morgan Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 As Al Rich did. I will also recommend mineral spirits. May take several applications but, works pretty good. Will not harm, chrome, clear parts or, paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschercr Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 On 7/23/2019 at 12:00 PM, SfanGoch said: Rich, the saw blade and scriber tips' kerf is only .30 mm. That is a super thin cut/scribe line. If anyone is interested in the saws/scribers, you can get them from UMM-USA. John Vojtech is a great guy to do business with; and he carries a lot of useful tools and supplies. Yes, John Vojteck is a great guy to do business with, they do carry a lot of useful tools and supplies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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