I managed to add my ranks to “butt vs window” during a bit of a rough ride. From what I’ve read on here, the fixed window needs to come out and I can lift the slider over the bottom rail to remove.
The trouble is the fixed window. It appears to have a black slightly flexible adhesive on three sides that is adhered to the window with significant holding power.
Any suggestions on getting this window out without having to replace both when I’m finished?
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I cracked a "square" (it wasn't) slider last summer when replacing a (too long) screw in the newly painted window frames. Harbor Freight sells a wood carving kit with a nice selection of thin, flexible, and long razor blades....a fancy Exacto set. The flexible blades worked great because you can get tight to the glass while cutting. I think the kit was around $15. I broke the last of the long blades just as I finished the job. Definitely wear leather gloves in any case.
A few pointers...
Do not bet on the pane being "square". I know yours is trapezoidal, but the advice is the same. My slider looked like a square pane, and the dang thing was slightly irregular...the square corners weren't. So my dimensions resulted in a square window in a very slightly trapezoidal frame. Had to cut a second pane using the orginal as a pattern. Bottom line, either take your cracked window to the glass shop, or make an exact template.
The glass on our boat is a two layer tempered safety, privacy glass in a bronze tint. It looked like smoked gray to me, but it's definitely bronze when we looked at sample. This type of glass is used in school busses, ambulances, and such...
Assess the condition of the felt lined metal track. If the felt is worn, suggest you replace it...maybe even the vertical piece. The track is available from Defender...believe it comes in a six foot length.
Have fun, be careful. Removing the fixed pane took me a couple of hours, but I'm old and slow with a bum knee. Cleaning up the old adhesive...probably another hour.
Thanks!
