Time: 2 Hours
Under the windshield lies a section of the forward top skin that needs some form of treatment. Some builders just paint it flat black to help prevent glare. I decided to go one step farther and adhere a faux black leather similar to our Lear jets. This step needs done before I fiberglass the windscreen in permanently. I went to the local fabric store and found a nice black fabric that feels like leather with a little bit of padding built in. To start I needed a template for the space I would apply it. With the windscreen in place I traced the outer edge as it meets the top skin. Then I removed the windshield and began to make a paper template tracing the line I just made as well as the aft edge.
Once I had all the lines drawn I cut the pattern out.
With the template I traced/cut the fabric with my sharp rotary cutter and checked the fit.
A little iron work is needed to smooth out the fold marks. After I got the wrinkles out I masked off the area that would get adhesive and scuffed the skin.
I then cleaned the surface good and sprayed the 3M contact cement on the skin and the back of the fabric.
After a few minutes to let both sides get tacky I laid the fabric in place. Luckily this cement is forgiving and allows you to lift and move as needed before getting stuck.
Wow I love how this looks and I’m real pleased with how easy it was to put on. I cleaned up the windsreen and put it back in place so that I could make sure all the fabric was inside the line. I had just a couple of spots that needed trimming with a sharp razor.
After the windscreen fiberglass is all done I will decide if I need to do anything with the junction between the windscreen and fabric on the inside.