Windshield Disassembly for Powder Coating

[Steve S]

Hi Gang ,
I'm planning on disassembling the windshield of my Playmate GT to have the frame powder coated . Thought I would ask if there are any hidden problems to be aware of . Don't know if it just screws apart or if the glass is glued / sealed into the frame . Anyone done this already , any insight would be appreciated .
Thx ,
Steve S

 

[ianz]

I know redrum did the one on his 2400

 

[jumbofordman]

The couple I've dealt with were riveted together, the glass is just held in place with a rubber seal. The hardest part is getting the windshield off the boat, the t-bolts tend to start turning. I got some replacements on e-Bay.

 

[Steve S]

Question for Jumbofordman :
Did you diaassemble the windshield on the boat , working down to the "T" bolts ?
or remove the windshield , then disassemble it ?
Thx ,
Steve S

 

[JT Patroni]

I powder coated the windshield on my Flite. I started by disassembling the frame with the "T" bolts still holding the bottom rails to the deck. Mine had SS screws holding the main parts in place. Rubber gaskets stabilized the glass in the frame. The last thing was to get under the deck and remove the "T" bolts. The "T" bots are stainless but the nuts were not. I applied some BP Blaster with a small brush to the nuts several times a few days prior to removing them. Most spun off with a little patience and a few snapped the stud making it easy to remove what was left. Checkmate has replacement "T" bolts in stock. I called and they sent them to me. I did replace the new nuts with SS Nyloc pieces so there will be no rust in the future.

 

[jumbofordman]

Question for Jumbofordman :
Did you diaassemble the windshield on the boat , working down to the "T" bolts ?
or remove the windshield , then disassemble it ?
Thx ,
Steve S

Well, I've done it both ways. The ones I've worked on you can separate in the middle, so you can take of each side separately. But in general, I prefer to take it off each side as one piece, then disassemble. I just chopped off problem t-bolts with a cut off wheel (although I bet that will be fun in a playmate!)