Louver replacement for quarter window glass
3/9/07, 08:16 AM
#1021
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You guys really should make this thread a sticky or start a new one. It isn't too much fun searching through 51 pages of stuff. Just a thought.
By the way those louvers F*ing rock. Great job.
By the way those louvers F*ing rock. Great job.
3/9/07, 10:43 PM
#1024
Hey guys, just another early day here 
Let's see... sticky would be a nice idea, someone's gotta tag the mods for this, I can't do it from where I'm sitting.
As to breaking the glass... please, please don't do this. We don't condone it for a great number of reasons, one of which being let's say in ten years you want to return it to original for a concours restoration - then what? The hour you saved today will be a very expensive hour indeed when you have to buy new glass, and it's just such a hack way to do the job. It can be done safely, cleanly, and really isn't that hard to do properly, and after 3 cars now, I can safely say scratching the car isn't an issue if you just use common sense and pay attention to your work. Also, glass in the eye, finger, wrist, etc... all bad things we'd like for you to avoid. That said, it's your car, we can't control it if hammers are in your tool list for this job - it's just not in ours.
Also, on the paint...
I actually received a call today from a customer, the quotes he was getting were OUTRAGEOUS for the louvers. The way we were able to get the price down to 139.00 was to promise a large volume of recurring orders, and that we'd be doing them in groups, to save on material and time. Right now is the initial "ramp up" phase, where not only is there a lot of orders (over 120 now and growing), but also there is a learning curve involved, as well as him and I going over his work to see what is acceptable and what is not. This goes on in every phase of production, it's just hard to accept now because the louvers are actually available, and it "seems" like they should be easy to paint, but there are a lot of tricks to getting a good job, especially when you're trying to do so many. Once we get caught up, then we will stock them pre-painted and this won't be an issue anymore.
As to him being a friend - more of an acquaintance. I've had him do work for me in the past on personal vehicles, and I was happy with the work. He is set up as a restoration / collision shop, and like I said before, he had a great business prior to us dropping this in his lap - there aren't any "starving painters" currently that can do good work, so this is putting a big crimp in his schedule as well - I am appreciative (even if unpatient myself) that he is devoting the booth time to this, as well as getting consistent help in there (so far) to aid in speeding the work along. Don't believe the work involved? Call Bill (aka hireman) and see if he would like to do a set for you in just a "regular" finish. He was my first choice for this job, but even he will tell you what he thinks of painting these in volume - plus the shipping back and forth was not a good idea, etc... again, doing one set for one person isn't so bad - but production is a whole different game, and that's what we're facing here with it.
Not being defensive here - just trying to lay out the facts.
Speaking of which...
Newest (and I hope final) revision of the installation instructions are posted to our website, along with 3M MSDS and tech data for the sealer. http://www.silverhorseracing.com/ Not too much changed, but we did want to point out that it is important to follow the sealer manufacturer's instructions for use - including preparation of the surface of the louver where it will contact the urethane. Failure to do this could cause an adhesive failure, which we don't want to see. There are no reports of anyone losing a set of louvers, but that's what we're trying to make sure does not happen. Even if the semi behind you can drive over the louvers without damaging the part, why would anyone want to test that? Again, this was a detail, but one we felt should be adequately noted so it doesn't get skipped during the install. We considered adding the primer / promoter here so that anyone not paying attention would still get a good install, but due to it's short working life (under 24 hours) and the fact that different suppliers may recommend different primers, we couldn't do it prior to shipping them out. FWIW - this data is straight from 3M - who we were speaking with at length today regarding this and other "black" projects. Needless to say, we are a fan of their products, and more importantly, their service - a great company to do business with, and worth their asking price given the support they give to companies like ours. (yeah, it's a shameless plug, but they deserve it - we've had nohing but great support from them since day one with the honeycomb panel when we were a nobody - which we actually still are when compared to their other customers!)
Ok, that's all for today. Again everyone, thanks - you are why we are able to have this dream job and all the good "problems" that go along with it!!
Let's see... sticky would be a nice idea, someone's gotta tag the mods for this, I can't do it from where I'm sitting.
As to breaking the glass... please, please don't do this. We don't condone it for a great number of reasons, one of which being let's say in ten years you want to return it to original for a concours restoration - then what? The hour you saved today will be a very expensive hour indeed when you have to buy new glass, and it's just such a hack way to do the job. It can be done safely, cleanly, and really isn't that hard to do properly, and after 3 cars now, I can safely say scratching the car isn't an issue if you just use common sense and pay attention to your work. Also, glass in the eye, finger, wrist, etc... all bad things we'd like for you to avoid. That said, it's your car, we can't control it if hammers are in your tool list for this job - it's just not in ours.
Also, on the paint...
I actually received a call today from a customer, the quotes he was getting were OUTRAGEOUS for the louvers. The way we were able to get the price down to 139.00 was to promise a large volume of recurring orders, and that we'd be doing them in groups, to save on material and time. Right now is the initial "ramp up" phase, where not only is there a lot of orders (over 120 now and growing), but also there is a learning curve involved, as well as him and I going over his work to see what is acceptable and what is not. This goes on in every phase of production, it's just hard to accept now because the louvers are actually available, and it "seems" like they should be easy to paint, but there are a lot of tricks to getting a good job, especially when you're trying to do so many. Once we get caught up, then we will stock them pre-painted and this won't be an issue anymore.
As to him being a friend - more of an acquaintance. I've had him do work for me in the past on personal vehicles, and I was happy with the work. He is set up as a restoration / collision shop, and like I said before, he had a great business prior to us dropping this in his lap - there aren't any "starving painters" currently that can do good work, so this is putting a big crimp in his schedule as well - I am appreciative (even if unpatient myself) that he is devoting the booth time to this, as well as getting consistent help in there (so far) to aid in speeding the work along. Don't believe the work involved? Call Bill (aka hireman) and see if he would like to do a set for you in just a "regular" finish. He was my first choice for this job, but even he will tell you what he thinks of painting these in volume - plus the shipping back and forth was not a good idea, etc... again, doing one set for one person isn't so bad - but production is a whole different game, and that's what we're facing here with it.
Not being defensive here - just trying to lay out the facts.
Speaking of which...
Newest (and I hope final) revision of the installation instructions are posted to our website, along with 3M MSDS and tech data for the sealer. http://www.silverhorseracing.com/ Not too much changed, but we did want to point out that it is important to follow the sealer manufacturer's instructions for use - including preparation of the surface of the louver where it will contact the urethane. Failure to do this could cause an adhesive failure, which we don't want to see. There are no reports of anyone losing a set of louvers, but that's what we're trying to make sure does not happen. Even if the semi behind you can drive over the louvers without damaging the part, why would anyone want to test that?
Again, this was a detail, but one we felt should be adequately noted so it doesn't get skipped during the install. We considered adding the primer / promoter here so that anyone not paying attention would still get a good install, but due to it's short working life (under 24 hours) and the fact that different suppliers may recommend different primers, we couldn't do it prior to shipping them out. FWIW - this data is straight from 3M - who we were speaking with at length today regarding this and other "black" projects. Needless to say, we are a fan of their products, and more importantly, their service - a great company to do business with, and worth their asking price given the support they give to companies like ours. (yeah, it's a shameless plug, but they deserve it - we've had nohing but great support from them since day one with the honeycomb panel when we were a nobody - which we actually still are when compared to their other customers!)Ok, that's all for today. Again everyone, thanks - you are why we are able to have this dream job and all the good "problems" that go along with it!!
3/10/07, 10:25 AM
#1026
Until we get caught up, we are quoting one month for painted. Next day shipping for unpainted. I don't think it will be that long, but I don't want to sugarcoat it either.
3/12/07, 10:32 PM
#1029
Yes, busy and loving every minute of it
Shipped another 5 sets of painted ones today, and a couple people with Torch Red will be getting the call tomorrow. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it still sounds an awful lot like a tornado - errr - I mean a train?
Shipped another 5 sets of painted ones today, and a couple people with Torch Red will be getting the call tomorrow. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it still sounds an awful lot like a tornado - errr - I mean a train?
We need screaming yellow 
...
3/13/07, 05:43 AM
#1031
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Yes, busy and loving every minute of it
Shipped another 5 sets of painted ones today, and a couple people with Torch Red will be getting the call tomorrow. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it still sounds an awful lot like a tornado - errr - I mean a train?
Shipped another 5 sets of painted ones today, and a couple people with Torch Red will be getting the call tomorrow. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it still sounds an awful lot like a tornado - errr - I mean a train?
Thank you!
3/13/07, 06:42 AM
#1032
Cobra Member
Ok...if you quoted the guy earlier that it would be a month for painted (black). Then about how much longer for someone who has been on the pre order list for a couple months, to get their black ones. Please...Im not trying to press you, just want an idea, thats all
Thank you!
Thank you!
-danny
3/13/07, 07:56 AM
#1034
Yes, busy and loving every minute of it
Shipped another 5 sets of painted ones today, and a couple people with Torch Red will be getting the call tomorrow. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it still sounds an awful lot like a tornado - errr - I mean a train?
Shipped another 5 sets of painted ones today, and a couple people with Torch Red will be getting the call tomorrow. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it still sounds an awful lot like a tornado - errr - I mean a train?
Hi Marcello,
New to this site, but an old customer if we consider the initial order date for the windows, I consider them windows because that is what they replace.
Can you give us an estimate on the production of pre-painted windveil blue windows?? I am in the same boat, the first show in Houston is in the beginning of April. I was hoping I had an edge on others with your product.
3/13/07, 09:58 AM
#1035
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Thanks Marcello,GOT the email from fedex.Can't wait for my windveil blue louvers to be delivered Friday . I'll be starting preparations today ! What a great way to come out of hibernation ! The sun is shining and today it is 62 degrees in beautiful downtown Belle River ! Thanks Again !
3/13/07, 10:47 AM
#1036
Team Mustang Source
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Hey Marcello, I'm not sure if I already asked this question (and if I did, I apologize). Since I am painting the louvers to match my car, is it necessary to paint the inside part where the sealant would be black in color? Thanks for the info. 
3/13/07, 09:19 PM
#1040
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