Cleveland, OH
I was bored this weekend so I used Triple Thick (TT) to seal a Back Glass. It was my first time doing this. NOTE: MOST (if not all) OF AREAS WHERE THE PAINT IS MISSING WAS DUE TO "Operator Error" (ME) ... NOT THE TT. Please read whole post for more info on how to avoid this !
PICTURES MAY BE in reverse order after they download to website ... Hope not ...
The BG was delaminating along whole bottom edge when I got it ~15 years ago. Since then, it has been hanging in my unheated garage as eye candy. Delaminating had increased from ~1inch to ~4 inches. I did some research on YouTube and read some posts here and other websites. I didn't really see anyone that sprayed under large areas of delamination so I am posting this in case it will help someone.
WHAT DID I DO ??
Gently cleaned the "solid" parts or the BG with damp paper towels. Masked off the clear "windows" with blue painters tape. GENTLY lifted delaminating sections and sprayed TT under it. GENTLY pushed the loose sections down ... let sit for couple minutes and pushed down more trying to remove air bubbles. Sprayed a medium to light coat over the whole BG. Put plastic wrap over the bottom half and tried to squeeze out more air bubbles. Stacked booked and weights on top of lower half of BG. About 6-7 hours later I removed the plastic wrap and tried to "push" more air bubbles out. In a couple spots a made a small cut to let the air or pooled up TT "escape". Put another coat (medium to thick) over whole BG. Let dry 12 hours. TOTAL, I used about 3/4 of a can of TT.
WHAT I LEARNED >>>
I couldn't get the metal strip on bottom of BG off easily > so tapped it with a hammer ... it came off but there were 2 sections of rubberized tape(??) holding the bar on and where that tape was > it tore the loose paint. (See close up photo) This could probably be avoided by cutting along the top edge of metal strip with a very sharp razor knife.
When taping the windows > I would tape a little inside the window so the TT can seal the edge of the paint. I removed tape immediately after applying my 2nd coat and didn't have to cut around tape or have any peeling. IF YOUR PAINT IS LOOSE > DO NOT LET THE TAPE TOUCH THE PAINT AROUND THE WINDOWS OR TAPE WILL PULL THE PAINT !! (See AFTER photo > left side of Player 4 window) This is harder to do than it sounds ... maybe place a piece of paper down next to the window (and over the loose paint)??
The spraying under the delaminating sections actually worked fairly well ... 6 hours may have been too soon to pull the plastic wrap off as I did have one small section of paint that stuck to plastic wrap (I know you are saying "Well, DUH!" ... I'm impatient and on the plus side > it seemed the TT trapped between glass and paint was still wet in some areas so I was able to squeeze out more air bubbles) ... NOTE > The pile of books and weights I stacked on BG didn't really squeeze out the air bubbles (just kept everything relatively flat)
After spraying under the delaminating sections > when "pushing" the paint down into the TT >> make sure the tip of your finger doesn't get sticky or you will pull up chunks of paint. Maybe have a rag with paint thinner on it to clean fingers??
You only get one shot to put the plastic wrap down > it stays right where it lands. I screwed up and didn't get it all the way to the bottom of the BG. Later when I stacked the books on top, I forgot this and the book stuck to the paint and lifted some of it. (see photo) .. don't worry about getting plastic wrap close to edge > just have the plastic wrap overhang a couple inches. I used off brand plastic wrap and seemed great as it didn't want to stick to itself as much as "good" wrap. (i.e. I think it laid flatter and left less wrinkles in the dried TT).
The Triple Thick SMELLS ... and is FLAMMABLE. I did this in my basement (opposite side of basement from my gas furnace) ... fumes did not ignite ... but basement stunk for 10 hours and sure I lost some brain cells due to fumes. Ideally, I would do this in the summer and outside on a day with no wind.
OVERALL > I think it came out very well. The spots (were paint is missing) are my fault > due to above learning curve.
MORAL OF STORY > Yes, it is possible to spray under large sections and re-laminate to Back Glass. Yes > there will be air bubbles. but it should stop further degradation and think it looks better than it was. (and when I hold it up to the light the air bubbles don't really show up) ... Best to do the TT before it gets as bad as mine was. If you have a spare BG > practice on that before doing the one you really want to save.
Hope this helps some of you.
