Best brand of windshield?

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by Shaky

Bumpity bump-bump. Hey Brian - any updates?

Sorry, everyone. I have not been on here a lot lately. The windshield came very nicely packed. It was the correct fully lightly tinted model that I was looking for. It was slightly thinner than the original one that I had, but when looking at the side it seemed to be three ply where the original looked like two. That could just be the way things looked though. I have no way to confirm how many ply's either were. I had a glass installer do the actual install. I helped him do it. Before he got there, he wanted me to have the gasket and trim on it. I had brand new trim. I fought with the new trim for a while before deciding to try the original trim. The original trim fit like a glove. So, I spent the time to polish it and remove a few small dings. I also bought a new back window. I had the same issue. The brand new back trim fit like garbage in the corners. And I bought them both from a well known vender that advertises here quite often. My wife and I put the back window in ourselves with no issues (other than the trim not staying tight in the upper corners). The only issue that I have with the windshield is that on the top driver's side, on the inside the seal is a little rippled. That seems to be a common issue. I guess starting the install from the top helps to avoid this. The guy that did mine wanted to start on the bottom. He said that the seal would start to settle in after a while. It may be doing that a little, its hard to tell. I doesn't really look that bad. It looks great from the outside.

So... I would say that I would recommend the windshield and back window from Summit. They are OER branded, and other retailer's carry them as well. Summit is really good to work usually if you have an issue, so I went with them.

[davepl]

Originally Posted by BrianG

So... I would say that I would recommend the windshield and back window from Summit. They are OER branded, and other retailer's carry them as well. Summit is really good to work usually if you have an issue, so I went with them.

Maybe they got a new batch, but mine was incorrectly tinted. It did come in an OER box but the glass inside did not, I do not think, say OER in the corner. Does yours?

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by davepl

Maybe they got a new batch, but mine was incorrectly tinted. It did come in an OER box but the glass inside did not, I do not think, say OER in the corner. Does yours?

No, Mine did not say OER on it anywhere. Neither did the back window. No indication on Country of origin either. I think there were some DOT markings in one corner of both windows. I can try to take a pic of them tonight.

What was wrong with your tint Dave. I heard that you had a lamination issue also, isn't that correct?

[davepl]

Originally Posted by BrianG

What was wrong with your tint Dave. I heard that you had a lamination issue also, isn't that correct?

It was pretty much untinted at all. The guy at the glass shop demonstrated by holding a white cloth up behind it. The Summit one looked no different, maybe just a tad darker than clear. The Chinese one they had brought in was greenish like the side glass.

It was also missing the lamination in the corner for about 1.5". The seal itself covered the outside 1" of it, so you only saw a little corner once it was installed, but I'm glad I had it replaced anyway.

If I had it to do over again (and they offered to do it for free!) I'd make sure I had new stainless. I and a friend tried to install it 5-7 times and that took a bit of a toll. Plus one of my pieces is repro and you can tell it's not as tight a fit. So I will collect a set of OEM stainless, get it polished, and then redo it I think.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by davepl

It was pretty much untinted at all. The guy at the glass shop demonstrated by holding a white cloth up behind it. The Summit one looked no different, maybe just a tad darker than clear. The Chinese one they had brought in was greenish like the side glass.

It was also missing the lamination in the corner for about 1.5". The seal itself covered the outside 1" of it, so you only saw a little corner once it was installed, but I'm glad I had it replaced anyway.

If I had it to do over again (and they offered to do it for free!) I'd make sure I had new stainless. I and a friend tried to install it 5-7 times and that took a bit of a toll. Plus one of my pieces is repro and you can tell it's not as tight a fit. So I will collect a set of OEM stainless, get it polished, and then redo it I think.

Now that you say it, I'm not sure that the tint is quite as dark as factory. I never did a really close side by side comparison though. I bought replacement vent windows and they too seem very light. Probably lighter than the windshield and back glass. For now, I don't have a good set of tinted door glass so I'm just running with some clear. When you look at them compared to the rest, you can definitely notice that the tinted is different than the clear. I wonder if all of OER's glass is even made by the same company. It's possible that even though we both bought from Summit, we could have got glass from two different manufacturer's and both sold under the OER name.

[davepl]

Originally Posted by BrianG

It's possible that even though we both bought from Summit, we could have got glass from two different manufacturer's and both sold under the OER name.

Given the glass isn't branded OER, it's quite possible. Also they were backordered for some time I heard so may have switched suppliers.

If you hold a white cloth up behind it, it should have a noticeable green tinge. The Summit one was just a little grey, at least in my case. There was definitely SOME tint because the area where the lamination was missing was very clear in comparison.

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

Pittsburgh glass works formerly owned by PPG there's a location in every major city in the U.S. and Canada , why pay shipping when you can pick it up from the manufacturer ?

I called PGW. They only sell wholesale. Told me to call local glass shop.

Gonna call Bob's Classic Window next. My side glass is pretty good, but since I'm going to pull it and the vent windows to re-do the channels, I might as well make the whole cab tinted.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by BrianG

No, Mine did not say OER on it anywhere. Neither did the back window. No indication on Country of origin either. I think there were some DOT markings in one corner of both windows. I can try to take a pic of them tonight.

What was wrong with your tint Dave. I heard that you had a lamination issue also, isn't that correct?

Here is what my windshield and back window both have printed on them in the lower left corner. The only difference is the windshield is black print and the back window is white print, and the DOT number for the windshield is 686 AS1 compared to the back being 686 AS2