Midyear Tinted Windshield

[Dino L.]

Dear L,

The color at the top does not extend to the bottom. it only extends to the AS-1 mark on the windshield along the a-pillar post.

The windshield is made up of two pieces of glass that sandwich a piece of poly vinyl butyral (PVB). The PVB is a plastic that when heated turns perfectly clear and sticks to glass. This is what laminates the glass together. The PVB sheet which if original would be .015" thick, has the shadeband "Blue" only at the top of the PVB, it begins to fade to clear right below the AS-1 mark with the arrow pointing downward. The arrow according to ASTM standards mandates 70% light transmission below the AS-1 mark, that is why the blue shadeband stops below it. the dark color will not meet the 70% figure. As a sidenote, if your windshield is original that blue shadeband along the top could be discolored from ultraviolet light in which it turns bronze in appearance.

[Brandon K.]

Re: Midyear Tinted Windshield

Dino, you sound extremely knowledgeable about the windshields. Can you recommend which company makes the most accurate reproductions as far as the tinting goes for the midyears? Thanks

Brandon

[Dino L.]

Re: Midyear Tinted Windshield

Dear Brandon,

Regarding the color of the shadeband, and who makes the correct color is a tough question to answer. To my knowledge, the windshield used on midyears is known as a DW00636, the part came in clear, green tint, and green tint with a blue shadeband. The problem today in obtaining a part as close to original is many! First of all Pilkington-Libbey Owens Ford has the rights to the Logo. Today if you obtain a new windshield it will be made by their Mexacali, Mexico plant then sold to companies that shoot a sand blast original logo and your date code. You can tell these parts by examining the edge very closely, there will be a Department of Transporation logo (DOT) number 177 (covered up by gasket)...this is for the Mexacali plant, the original logo also has DOT 15, which is the DOT code for LOF's Rossford/Toledo Plant. As a side note, the original AS1 marks (locator for blue shadeband) on the windshield were put on with a rubber stamp and white ink, today they will either be sandblasted or painted on with black frit.The other problem with the parts today is that they are made from float glass versus plate glass, and the thicknesses of the PVB and glass are much different. The thickness affects the colors. In addition I think LOF uses DuPont and Solutia (monsanto) PVB today, the two companies processes for putting the blue band color on the clear PVB is quite different and noticable. Another interesting difference today is how they shape the shadeband, or put the smile in the blue shadeband. It is much better today than it was in yesteryears technology. Simply to answer your question, there is only one company making the windshield and putting the original logo on it legally...LOF, then there are many merchandisers/distributors that take it from there. NOS is your only chance, by the way, they are out their in many old glass distributor/retailers warehouses.

[Brandon K.]

Re: Midyear Tinted Windshield

Thanks for that very informed response. I assume then, that the windshield I get from OEM Glass, for example, is exactly the same one that I would get from All Auto Glass, since they both etch the LOF logo onto it?

Thanks again.

[Dino L.]

Re: Midyear Tinted Windshield

Brandon,

The only company I know that makes the windshield and Logo's it is called Glass Search, they are a Hard-to-Find glass parts company owned/operated by LOF. They are located in Columbus Ohio, telephone 800-848-1351. I suspect that OEM and others buy their parts from them...ask OEM what the DOT code is on the very edge of the glass...it should be that 177 number. You may be taking a step out of the chain going direct to LOF, ask for a DW00636 GBN date coded....good luck!

[Brandon K.]

Re: Midyear Tinted Windshield

you've been a big help. I'll give them a try.

BK

[Larry T.]

Midyear Tinted Windshield

My 63' would appear to be one of the first with the tinted windshield only option. The question is, does the upper tinted portion fade down into a less tinted region to the bottom or fade to completely clear? Thanks in advance