The windows have proven to be the best and worst part of the trailer. They were the worst (leaking and ugly) and hopefully they will be the best (clean and tinted). These are dual pain... I mean paned units that have deteriorated solar film in between. To fix that, I have to take them out entirely, disassemble them, tint them, put them back together, and rivet the assembly back into the trailer.
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| Hmm... not so pretty. |
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| Kinda icky huh? |
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| Messy goop sealant. |
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| Taking out the window. |
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| Existing broken pane "fix". |
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| Cleaning the Stream. |
Now I have no background in windows or tinting, so I bought a roll of
15% automotive tint with some feet to spare for any big mistakes. A couple of YouTube videos later, I got started on the first pane. First step is do a rough cut from the roll a little larger than the window. Make sure the glass is as spotless as possible... any dust no matter how invisible it may seem will in fact show. There's a protective sheet on the sticky side of the tint so you'll want to peel that off. Use a spray bottle full of water and a smidge of liquid baby soap to get the glass evenly covered as well as the sticky side of the tinting. This will give you a little wiggle room to position it without it clinging. Then place the sticky side of the tinting on the wet glass and use a credit card to squeegee the water out starting at the center and working towards the edges. Does it look good? Trim around the edges with a razor blade and pat yourself on the back!
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| There you have it! |
Meanwhile, I've also been working on polishing the window frames. This is seriously time consuming, and very dirty and messy. I used two different sandpaper grits then finished off with a metal polish I got down at the local auto store.
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| *Oooooh* |
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| *Ahhhh* |
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| So worth it! |
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| Aluminitis! Is there a cure? |
Installation isn't so easy either. The tinted side will be on the inside facing side of the interior glass in the sandwich, and a strip of
butyl needs to go between the panes to keep the spacing. Then a
gasket has to go around it to seal the sandwich up. Then slide the whole thing back into the aluminum channel and rivet it up! Don't drop that glass!
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| Waiting patiently... |
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| Lots of goop. |
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| Excellent squeeze out for a good seal! |
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| Lookin good! |
What has really worked well for me is going around the exterior gasket with
marine sealant to prevent leaks after the window is installed. Now, once you've done all of the above, repeat like fifty times because you're crazy and wanted a trailer with a bazillion windows. Sigh... Until next time!
I've just been inspired. I have debated about adding tint to my windows for the past year or so. I like the look without the tint, but I think maybe the tint would reduce heat penetration from the sun in summer and add privacy. Your description on how to do it makes it sound worth a try. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteDepending on the type of tint, it will do all of the above! If you want a much less labor intensive way, you don't have to disassemble them to tint them, just like auto tinters don't take the car apart to tint the windows. I decided to take them apart for a few reasons: 1. I had no idea it was going to be this much work (being honest!) 2. Solar film that was placed between panes was deteriorating and looking terrible 3. It's easier to tint a pane of cleaned glass inside the house on the table without the frame surround 4. I found that the actual frames that are riveted in the body of the trailer all leaked. Hope this helps with your decision making process!
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