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I posted the above yesterday - or thought I had.

Regarding refinishing your existing frames - I know it would be a bit of a task, but as you were going to take them out to replace, why don't you remove them and get them powder coated or refinished professionally? Obviously the glass needs taking out too and you might be without any windows at all for a time, but I agree that brush painting wont give a good enough finish.

All else I can think of would be spraying (lots of masking up) or putting sufficient thickness of paint on so that you can smooth off with wet and dry.

 

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6 minutes ago, Johny London said:

Another nay sayer for Caldwells I'm afraid - I have a problem with mine and they are just not interested. I posted ages ago about the issue which is basically that the glass is blocking the drain holes, so the channels fill up and spill over/have to be wiped all the time. The holes for drainage are rough too, so the mopping up cloth always gets caught. I don't know if it would be an issue with how they were fitted or what - Caldwells had no idea and were not at all helpful.

 

As far as refinishing goes (and I know this isn't something you are considering but people have mentioned it), mine seem to be chromed and lacquered, so the right paint (or in my case, the wrong paint, ie when I've been painting the boat) adheres totally. What about a nice contemporary black finish?

 

See post 19 on how you might be able to rectify this problem.

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Oh - some problem with the site or internet - I HAD posted after all. I'm afraid the posting was waiting today for me to hit "post reply" and I couldn't get rid of it, so posted... again. Sorry for any confusion - I didn't see the other replies since, for some reason.

 

Unclear about how the window cord is arranged. Had thought to try and prise the glass up - worried about shattering - and use one of the holes (of the three each side) to insert something to keep the glass up.

 

Back to th op request - definitely looking like a strip out and re finish - plus you can check for any rust!

Edited by Johny London
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38 minutes ago, Johny London said:

Oh - some problem with the site or internet - I HAD posted after all. I'm afraid the posting was waiting today for me to hit "post reply" and I couldn't get rid of it, so posted... again. Sorry for any confusion - I didn't see the other replies since, for some reason.

 

Unclear about how the window cord is arranged. Had thought to try and prise the glass up - worried about shattering - and use one of the holes (of the three each side) to insert something to keep the glass up.

 

Back to th op request - definitely looking like a strip out and re finish - plus you can check for any rust!

 

On mine there is some form of thin sheet rubber seal between the glass and inner frame of the outside flange. The glass is held against this seal buy the cord that is pushed between the frame and glass on the inside. The cord should not be pushed fully home because if you do it will block the drain holes and may allow the glass to ride over the cord so it is no longer held tight against the outer strip seal.

 

Unfortunately in far too many cases the cord is stretched during fitting so it eventually pulls out of the corners and pushing it back is often only a temporary measure. When this happens I tend to cut the cord close to where it is crimped into the frame near the top/hopper and refit using a teaspoon handle to reseat it.

 

When I lifted my glass I pulled the  cord out along the bottom, then lifted the glass and refitted the cord but the glass can still slip down over time with vibration. The way I see to stop that is to lift the glass and then push a couple of short lengths of suitable  cord or square/rectangular section of soft plastic under the glass to hold it up. Obviously away from the drains.

 

As the boat usually trims stern down I see no reason not to use the centre hole to push something into that will hold the glass up but I only have two drains. You also need to take care not to create a point where the glass meets whatever you push through the hole in case the glass shatters. This is why I think something soft and longer pushed under the glass will be safer.

Edited by Tony Brooks
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I have had to replace a couple of the fixed panes on my Caldwell windows, after the boat had been broken into. They are really easy to dismantle. The fixed panes are held in by a single U shaped rubber seal. I seem to remember that the seals are cut away where the drain holes are, so the holes aren't blocked.

 

Agree with comments on Caldwell's customer service. After making a pane the wrong size, resulting in a second 300 mile round trip for me, not a hint of any apology from them.

 

Richard

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3 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

Unless you are a coach painter I rather doubt a good finish, acceptable, yes, but good no. there are likely to be to many curves, creases and fixings. I think we were advised to use aerosol spray paint.

Agreed 100%. 

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1 hour ago, Mike Hurley said:

Quick tip from an ex window fitter, do NOT use a screwdriver to lever glass, use plastic or wood or anything else. If the screwdriver blade touches that glass then it will be history.

I agree that there must be no sharp edges and great care is needed but I can not agree with your statement about screwdrivers. If that is true then why do I not have three shattered windows? In my case wood or plastic would not fit under the glass yet at the same time be strong enough to lift the window glass. Toughened glass is a lot stronger than people thing as long as it is not damaged in any way but of course once it suffers the slightest nick or chip the whole pane is likely to shatter - hence my emphasizing a flat blade with rounded edges, that removes the sharp blade enges than may chip the glass.

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4 hours ago, Greg & Jax said:

The chap that had our old Windows was going to strip them and have them powder coated to match his other Windows. 

Greg

 

 

My boat had the windows powder coated from new. When I bought it at 6 years old it was beginning to lift. The windows are going to have the powder coating removed and be painted during next years professional repaint.

 

In my opinion anodized aluminium gives the longest lasting finish.

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2 hours ago, WotEver said:

Agreed 100%. 

 

2 hours ago, WotEver said:

Agreed 100%. 

My painting is first class Purdy paint brushes or Hamilton may I say . Yes done lots of modern coach painting 

Trying to think I probably spent years painting. Inc this year 

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5 hours ago, Johny London said:

I posted the above yesterday - or thought I had.

Regarding refinishing your existing frames - I know it would be a bit of a task, but as you were going to take them out to replace, why don't you remove them and get them powder coated or refinished professionally? Obviously the glass needs taking out too and you might be without any windows at all for a time, but I agree that brush painting wont give a good enough finish.

All else I can think of would be spraying (lots of masking up) or putting sufficient thickness of paint on so that you can smooth off with wet and dry.

 

Hi there is a powder coating company only a few miles away from me this seems like the best option thank you again 

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Thankyou I’m still undecided now channelglaze has been mentioned twice I shall contact them for a quote. Lots to think about new windows. Powder coating and painting 

1 hour ago, The Bearwood Boster said:

Just as a matter of interest,we changed our windows to tinted,black framed double glazed.We had them from Channelglaze 3 years ago & are well pleased with them.

Hi are your windows clipped in from inside, or fixed via screws on outside with black rubber strip on outside just curious thankyou 

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41 minutes ago, The Bearwood Boster said:

Black rubber strip & screws on the outside.They look smart as well as being good quality.No pics I'm afraid as we're not on the boat at the moment.

until the rubber shrinks and/or start to fall out out and discoloured. I much prefer the honesty of the screws being on show without the flanges to secure the filler strip.

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Hi tony I see channel glaze windows today I’d say looks the better windows, 100 per cent , was not so keen on the strip and screws but be honest minor and I could live with that thanks tony 

Yes tony definitely better quality I looked channel glaze up to I’ll be ringing them tomorrow as much as I don’t wanna spend the lettuce I’m more likely too . I do like the boat looking good 

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After traumatising with all your good advice and helping me save money , I have decided to replace all the windows using channelglaze. I spoke to them today I’m going with the double glazed full hopper have not decided on chrome or black as yet , but I do want grey tint , so I’ll be taking two of mine out so I can measure as I can’t risk wrong measurements, thank you all , and I will be making sure someone gets my almost immaculate old windows I will order in December for around feb March delivery 

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27 minutes ago, Snakezilla said:

After traumatising with all your good advice and helping me save money , I have decided to replace all the windows using channelglaze. I spoke to them today I’m going with the double glazed full hopper have not decided on chrome or black as yet , but I do want grey tint , so I’ll be taking two of mine out so I can measure as I can’t risk wrong measurements, thank you all , and I will be making sure someone gets my almost immaculate old windows I will order in December for around feb March delivery 

What colour is the boat and do you have other chromie stuff?    chrome I think goes with rich colours like a royal blue, deep red, or plain white/cream.   Black I think goes more with pale colours and white/cream.

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I have posted the following before but it is easiest (for Athy) to cut & paste here:

I bought my windows in a hurry because the snow kept coming in the 7 holes in the sides and I had 2 inches of ice in the bottom of the boat and it was cold.

I bought channelglaze because they had a good name.

I drilled and tapped hundreds of holes to fit them (never again) and used sealing tape to seal them. I found the tape awkward because if the screws made contact with the tape they dragged the tape out of position and seized the screw. I used SS screws and they show no sign of rusting yet (5 years).

The windows only do half the job I want. I want them to:

Let in the light. 10/10

Keep the heat in when closed. 4/10 (better than a hole, just)

Keep intruders out. 0/10

Allow air to come in and go out when the ventilators are open. 10/10

Not leak. 8/10

Problems I found:

They have a cosmetic rubber strip hiding the screw heads. Amazingly this fills with water, even with an open bit low down. The water then gets past the screws and leaks inside.

The metal frames conduct heat away like billyho and get covered in condensation.

Condensation does not run away down the rubber channel because this is not a caravan and the window is angled. These are caravan windows!

The vents on the outside are screwed on. One of mine is screwed on at a cockeyed angle. Irritating when you've paid out hundreds of pounds. When I visited their showroom, one on display was cockeyed too!

The hopper windows leak in severe storms with the wind in a particular direction.

The sealing strip stuff weakens with time. Tightening screws is necessary from time to time. The connection between boat and windows is just plain crude.

There is no convenient method of coping with a broken window. As I understand it you have to send them the complete window and they fix it, with no easy way of blocking the hole meanwhile. Any half-decent window should offer an easy way of dealing with this.

The holes cut in the boat require different bottom corner curvatures depending on supplier. This is a pain if you want to consider changing the set.

 

In short, they cost a lot of money for some very ancient (not in a good way) technology. If anybody produces a well-designed modern unit I will consider changing the lot.

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5 hours ago, system 4-50 said:

I have posted the following before but it is easiest (for Athy) to cut & paste here:

I bought my windows in a hurry because the snow kept coming in the 7 holes in the sides and I had 2 inches of ice in the bottom of the boat and it was cold.

I bought channelglaze because they had a good name.

I drilled and tapped hundreds of holes to fit them (never again) and used sealing tape to seal them. I found the tape awkward because if the screws made contact with the tape they dragged the tape out of position and seized the screw. I used SS screws and they show no sign of rusting yet (5 years).

The windows only do half the job I want. I want them to:

Let in the light. 10/10

Keep the heat in when closed. 4/10 (better than a hole, just)

Keep intruders out. 0/10

Allow air to come in and go out when the ventilators are open. 10/10

Not leak. 8/10

Problems I found:

They have a cosmetic rubber strip hiding the screw heads. Amazingly this fills with water, even with an open bit low down. The water then gets past the screws and leaks inside.

The metal frames conduct heat away like billyho and get covered in condensation.

Condensation does not run away down the rubber channel because this is not a caravan and the window is angled. These are caravan windows!

The vents on the outside are screwed on. One of mine is screwed on at a cockeyed angle. Irritating when you've paid out hundreds of pounds. When I visited their showroom, one on display was cockeyed too!

The hopper windows leak in severe storms with the wind in a particular direction.

The sealing strip stuff weakens with time. Tightening screws is necessary from time to time. The connection between boat and windows is just plain crude.

There is no convenient method of coping with a broken window. As I understand it you have to send them the complete window and they fix it, with no easy way of blocking the hole meanwhile. Any half-decent window should offer an easy way of dealing with this.

The holes cut in the boat require different bottom corner curvatures depending on supplier. This is a pain if you want to consider changing the set.

 

In short, they cost a lot of money for some very ancient (not in a good way) technology. If anybody produces a well-designed modern unit I will consider changing the lot

5 hours ago, system 4-50 said:

I have posted the following before but it is easiest (for Athy) to cut & paste here:

I bought my windows in a hurry because the snow kept coming in the 7 holes in the sides and I had 2 inches of ice in the bottom of the boat and it was cold.

I bought channelglaze because they had a good name.

I drilled and tapped hundreds of holes to fit them (never again) and used sealing tape to seal them. I found the tape awkward because if the screws made contact with the tape they dragged the tape out of position and seized the screw. I used SS screws and they show no sign of rusting yet (5 years).

The windows only do half the job I want. I want them to:

Let in the light. 10/10

Keep the heat in when closed. 4/10 (better than a hole, just)

Keep intruders out. 0/10

Allow air to come in and go out when the ventilators are open. 10/10

Not leak. 8/10

Problems I found:

They have a cosmetic rubber strip hiding the screw heads. Amazingly this fills with water, even with an open bit low down. The water then gets past the screws and leaks inside.

The metal frames conduct heat away like billyho and get covered in condensation.

Condensation does not run away down the rubber channel because this is not a caravan and the window is angled. These are caravan windows!

The vents on the outside are screwed on. One of mine is screwed on at a cockeyed angle. Irritating when you've paid out hundreds of pounds. When I visited their showroom, one on display was cockeyed too!

The hopper windows leak in severe storms with the wind in a particular direction.

The sealing strip stuff weakens with time. Tightening screws is necessary from time to time. The connection between boat and windows is just plain crude.

There is no convenient method of coping with a broken window. As I understand it you have to send them the complete window and they fix it, with no easy way of blocking the hole meanwhile. Any half-decent window should offer an easy way of dealing with this.

The holes cut in the boat require different bottom corner curvatures depending on supplier. This is a pain if you want to consider changing the set.

 

In short, they cost a lot of money for some very ancient (not in a good way) technology. If anybody produces a well-designed modern unit I will consider changing the lot.

Blimey don’t know what to say about that , sorry to hear that , s steel screws appear to be best part and I bet you supplied them , 

5 hours ago, Johny London said:

What you've described sounds about typical for boat quality. Why bother designing something that works well when you can use an old "victorian era" technique.... "that'll do."

Funny that , I purchased vetus vents and changed all deck gear all vetus,  was disappointed quality of them considering there two and three times the price and I was well overcharged, got ripped off , my fault should of purchased from vetus shop 

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