Any Sungate windshields left?

The windshield suddenly cracked from pillar to pillar. It makes me wonder if it's another gift from the teenager next door.

The Sungate is a great windshield to have in the high-altitude desert. There is a lot more solar radiation here at 5280 feet. I'd really like to have another one.

So does anyone know of a glass company that still has some old ones in stock?

They still make Sungate windshields for other cars, maybe they still make them for ours?

http://www.pgwglass.com/products/Pages/OEMgWindshield.aspx

Mike

Our windshields aren't listed on the website. I sent them an email a few weeks ago. No reply.

Nick Danger wrote:

The windshield suddenly cracked from pillar to pillar. It makes me wonder if it's another gift from the teenager next door.

The Sungate is a great windshield to have in the high-altitude desert. There is a lot more solar radiation here at 5280 feet. I'd really like to have another one.

So does anyone know of a glass company that still has some old ones in stock?

Check the body mounts on the car,.

I didn't think of that. It was certainly started by a ding in the glass.

Last fall, I was told by a supplier that they could get the Sungate windshield. It turns out (after that supplier contacted every possible source in Canada) that the glass they can get is actually made by someone else but sports the same part number as the real PPG Sungate -- meaning it will fit. But obviously it ain't gonna have the same properties.

Casting around looking for alternatives (eg: there's a Chinese company making Sungate knock-offs) I came across 3m crystaline film "tint".

MotorTrend wrote a very favourable review of the product.

3M is claiming 38% solar heat reduction even using the very light 70% tint. I wouldn't want to go any darker on the windshield (I don't care about looking mysterious -- there's deer out there!) Has anyone tried this (or a similar product)? Is it a reasonable alternative to the forged-from-pure-unobtanium Sungate?

I got a Pilkington solar (equivalent to Sungate) in 2010. There were no issues in obtaining it. Not sure if it was made in their US or UK facility, but it's not Chinese.

Interesting. I found their website, but the only "Solar" I could find was for buildings, so I couldn't find any relevant specs. I may have to give them a call. I would prefer to have something built-in rather than a tint film.

I called Pilkington Classics and left a voice mail. Maybe they'll call me back on Monday.

buickwagon: I'm in Ontario as well. When I replaced the windshield, I just phoned the local auto glass place (specifically Duro) and they could easily obtain them from whatever supplier they use. They asked if I wanted the Solar or not and ordered it in. This might be the glass your supplier was referring to. I think it may have had the same P/N as the PPG.

Out of curiosity, why are you guys calling the manufacturer, vs asking the auto glass shop/supplier if they can source the Pilkington.

Hmmm, I have a Pilkington Solar in the parts car. Looks nice. Perhaps I should grab it before it is crush time.

im also getting a new windshield this week. i was outside working on the car yesterday, shinning it up, polishing the wheels and making it look nice. i came out this morning to find a crack about a foot long coming down from the top of the windshield on the drivers side. as of now its already grown to be about 20" in length. im pissed right off. less then a month ago i had to replace the tailgate glass and now this. my wagon love is diminishing...Fast. i opted to go with an OEM windshield, money is really tight right now.

What is the design theory of the Sungate? I would think that there is more than "Polarization" to it.

jasonlachapelle wrote:

buickwagon: I'm in Ontario as well.

I noticed that. I'm at one end of Hwy 60 and you are at the other

Quote :

When I replaced the windshield, I just phoned the local auto glass place (specifically Duro) and they could easily obtain them from whatever supplier they use. They asked if I wanted the Solar or not and ordered it in. This might be the glass your supplier was referring to. I think it may have had the same P/N as the PPG.

Could well be. The PPG "Sungate" number is DW1275. The PPG number for the regular "Soft-Ray" glass is DW1274. Some manufacturers use the PPG number as a convenient cross-reference. They may mark a plain glass windshield "DW1275" because it will fit. I think that's what happened when I originally inquired -- I gave the installer the DW1275 number, he called his distributor and the distributor just looked at the number and said "Sure, we have those".

Quote :

Out of curiosity, why are you guys calling the manufacturer, vs asking the auto glass shop/supplier if they can source the Pilkington.

Let me ask you a question in return: what could the auto glass shop tell you about the properties of the Pilkington replacement, beyond the fitment? Was he able to tell you what percentage of IR radiation is reflected by the "Solar" windshield? The Sungate blocks, on average, 50% of IR energy. At the extreme long-wavelength end of the IR spectrum, the Sungate blocks 90% of the IR. The regular batch solar glass windshields block approximately 25% of the IR. It's entirely possible that 15 years of R&D means the Pilkington is even better than the Sungate but without knowing the specs, it's impossible to say. Since I can't get an original Sungate, I'd like the best thing available, please.

As for the technology:

Batch solar glass has special additives melted into the glass and is very good at blocking UV light but not IR. Batch solar glass usually has a greenish tint, but could be greyish or even somewhat bronze. "Solar Green", "Solex" and "Solar Tint" are all trade names of this type of glass.

The Sungate has a metal oxide film between the two laminated glass layers which adds the IR blocking capability. The layer gives the glass a slightly purplish tint but I don't think that necessarily means a slightly purplish tint to the glass guarantees a metal oxide layer.

buickwagon wrote:

...
As for the technology:

Batch solar glass has special additives melted into the glass and is very good at blocking UV light but not IR. Batch solar glass usually has a greenish tint, but could be greyish or even somewhat bronze. "Solar Green", "Solex" and "Solar Tint" are all trade names of this type of glass.

The Sungate has a metal oxide film between the two laminated glass layers which adds the IR blocking capability. The layer gives the glass a slightly purplish tint but I don't think that necessarily means a slightly purplish tint to the glass guarantees a metal oxide layer.

Interesting. Are they easily identifiable to someone observing the car (name etching, etc.)? Do they affect the driver's visibility in any way?

Yes, it says Sungate in the corner, and you can easily see the purple colour. Inside, you can't tell it is different when looking through it.

I noticed a big difference in interior heat when I went from my 92 RMW with Sungate to my Caprice wagon with a regular windshield.

They don't affect the driver's visibility, but they are known to interfere with radio transmission. Some devices will work, some won't.

DW1275 was the p/n. There was a significant price difference over the DW1274.

If you do get the properties, please post them.

Pilkington Classics returned the call, and said that they have nothing available for the Buick Roadmaster.

jasonlachapelle wrote:

DW1275 was the p/n. There was a significant price difference over the DW1274.

If you do get the properties, please post them.

Thanks for posting that. I found someone who has the DW1275. The lady took me a lot more seriously when I gave her the NAGS number.

I followed Jimbeau's suggestion that I call local places until I found one who could get a solar windshield. It comes to $225 plus $25 for the molding (she gave me the molding at cost). I got an appointment for Monday.

I also discovered that Safelite was useless. The guy who answered the phones didn't know anything about glass, just about using the computerized lookup system.

Nick Danger wrote:

Pilkington Classics returned the call, and said that they have nothing available for the Buick Roadmaster.

The windshield in my parts car is a Pilkington DW1275. So, there are two possibilities: the person didn't know what they are talking about, or, the windshield is discontinued. I believe it was the former. Windshields are available for cars much older than ours. I had the windshield in mom's 84 Cadillac replaced last year. Local glass place had no problems getting it.

We got a DW1275 windshield. It says "Solar." But it's green, not purple. It's FY brand (China). I hope it's as heat-resistant as the Sungate was.

does the sungate also come in the olds cc or caprice ???

We just got back from a road trip to the Colorado Rockies. The temperatures were in the 80s and 90s, and the altitude was 6000 to 14000 feet.

The new, green, made in China, solar windshield is a lot hotter than the Sungate. We had to crank up the AC, and there was a pool of hot dead air at the top of the cabin. I'm tall enough that my head was into it.

This Motor Trend review of the 3M "Crystaline" window film is very favourable and sounds like that might be the next best thing to a Sungate. I found this brochure on 3M's website and the CR90 looks suitable for a windshield -- claimed to block 34% of all solar radiation and 90% of the infrared with only 10% reduction of visible light.

Does anyone have any experience with this stuff? Would it be worth having it applied to a new windshield before it was installed?

were the sungates available in caprice wagons

buickwagon wrote:

This Motor Trend review of the 3M "Crystaline" window film is very favourable and sounds like that might be the next best thing to a Sungate. I found this brochure on 3M's website and the CR90 looks suitable for a windshield -- claimed to block 34% of all solar radiation and 90% of the infrared with only 10% reduction of visible light.

Does anyone have any experience with this stuff? Would it be worth having it applied to a new windshield before it was installed?

You can only get it from a 3M dealer. There is only one in town. He doesn't stock the CR90, which passes 90% of visible light. He offered to do the CR70, but I want as little tint as I can get on the windshield. Mrs Danger already has problems driving at night. The price would be $199 for just the windshield. If I wanted CR90, he would make me buy the whole 10-foot roll. He called that "cost prohibitive."

The 3M website lists the dealers by zip code. I kept plugging in zip codes to try to find another one. The next closest dealer is 250 miles away, and it's not likely that I'll be in El Paso for any reason. After that, it's Denver at 440 miles.

Nick Danger wrote:

The price would be $199 for just the windshield. If I wanted CR90, he would make me buy the whole 10-foot roll. He called that "cost prohibitive.

Ouch. Oh well, so much for that idea.

Actually, my buddy has pretty much talked me out of the idea. He says tinting on the windshield is too prone to scratches unless great care is taken. All it takes is one kid to decide to scrape the frost off the inside with an ice scraper...

Nick Danger wrote:

buickwagon wrote:

This Motor Trend review of the 3M "Crystaline" window film is very favourable and sounds like that might be the next best thing to a Sungate. I found this brochure on 3M's website and the CR90 looks suitable for a windshield -- claimed to block 34% of all solar radiation and 90% of the infrared with only 10% reduction of visible light.

Does anyone have any experience with this stuff? Would it be worth having it applied to a new windshield before it was installed?

You can only get it from a 3M dealer. There is only one in town. He doesn't stock the CR90, which passes 90% of visible light. He offered to do the CR70, but I want as little tint as I can get on the windshield. Mrs Danger already has problems driving at night. The price would be $199 for just the windshield. If I wanted CR90, he would make me buy the whole 10-foot roll. He called that "cost prohibitive."

The 3M website lists the dealers by zip code. I kept plugging in zip codes to try to find another one. The next closest dealer is 250 miles away, and it's not likely that I'll be in El Paso for any reason. After that, it's Denver at 440 miles.

If he is making you pay for the whole roll, make him give you the whole roll. You could sell the remainder to recoup some of your costs.