Hatch quarter window restoration options?

[2000xp8]

I'm hoping this winter to have the car painted (factory red).
My quarter window moldings are shot. It makes the most sense to address this during paint work.
I would prefer to have the windows with the mustang lettering.
On youtube I saw a video of foxresto.com and how they redo notch windows, but it doesn't appear they do them for hatches.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkFXhJluIMQ


Looks like foxresto does a nice factory looking job.

Are there options out there for hatch owners?

I'm well aware that restoring the windows is more costly than buying a repro set.

 

[HotFox]

Yeah not a lot of options for us hatch guys. I went the team vision route last fall, pickup a set off of Facebook and sent them off in November 2018. Still waiting on those to return. The ones that are on the car I pulled off and redid in 2010 myself. They look pretty good still but have a couple of imperfections and I have one spot where it looks like the paint maybe bubbling.

 

[2000xp8]

Yeah not a lot of options for us hatch guys. I went the team vision route last fall, pickup a set off of Facebook and sent them off in November 2018. Still waiting on those to return. The ones that are on the car I pulled off and redid in 2010 myself. They look pretty good still but have a couple of imperfections and I have one spot where it looks like the paint maybe bubbling.

I'm hoping "2018" is a typo, lol.
My current windows are probably beyond painting.
While I could probably get another used set that is better and improve them, I really prefer not to.

If I absolutely must, I will buy repro's.

 

[91TwighlightGT]

Can we see pics of the current windows? You would be surprised what is saveable.

 

[93 teal terror]

I have a NOS set that has never been used that I picked up in 2014. Trying to decide what to do with them. I might could be talked out of them. Honestly my car isn't really nice enough to use them on.

 

[HotFox]

I'm hoping "2018" is a typo, lol.
My current windows are probably beyond painting.
While I could probably get another used set that is better and improve them, I really prefer not to.

If I absolutely must, I will buy repro's.

Nope not a typo, the guy was running a sale last fall and got a ton of windows. Never seen window restoration take a year he was claiming something about his process and the cure time but seems to be full of a lot of excuses.

I think if a guy a few years back found the right glass shop they could find a NOS set sitting in a warehouse somewhere. But I think that is a dead end these days. I really cant bring myself to go aftermarket, two reasons one no Mustang logo and second inferior quality to the originals. I have bought to much stuff that is inferior quality to the original this day and age.

 

[93 teal terror]

 

[2000xp8]

Not sure the going rate these days on a NOS set.

I'm by no means a perfectionist either (nor am I made of money).

I thought if they could be refurbed for $600 it's a little high, but within reason compared to buying reproductions.

Ebay asking prices on them are insane, as if guys are doing concourse restorations of foxes...

 

[Habu135]

Do a vehicle search at your local junkyard. Surprisingly there are still a few Fox Bodys around and you might get lucky with the condition of the quarter glass.

 

[BlakeusMaximus]

You could always redo them yourself. I did mine back in the spring. Not 100% stock looking but they look good

 

[BlakeusMaximus]

I had the windows out when I did the body work and had it painted earlier this year. SEM sells plastic repair kits that work well. I used that, we use it in the body shop on bumper covers. I block sanded the rubber surround with 180, applied the filler material, blocked that down with 120, primed them, then wet sanded the primer with 600 until smooth. Painted them with black base coat and cleared it a flat clear.

 

[Noobz347]

I have a NOS set that has never been used that I picked up in 2014. Trying to decide what to do with them. I might could be talked out of them. Honestly my car isn't really nice enough to use them on.

PM that stuff.

 

[TOOLOW91]

Nope not a typo, the guy was running a sale last fall and got a ton of windows. Never seen window restoration take a year he was claiming something about his process and the cure time but seems to be full of a lot of excuses.

I think if a guy a few years back found the right glass shop they could find a NOS set sitting in a warehouse somewhere. But I think that is a dead end these days. I really cant bring myself to go aftermarket, two reasons one no Mustang logo and second inferior quality to the originals. I have bought to much stuff that is inferior quality to the original this day and age.

Cure time my ass . I wish fox resto made sometning for you . I have a team visions set on my coupe . I bought them second hand . My buddy never thought he’d see these again so he bought the fox resto ones and both showed up at the same time . Don’t get me wrong it was worth me getting these but the fox resto is better . Mine are already stress cracking in the corners . Nothing anyone would see unless they knew what they were looking for .

 

[HotFox]

Cure time my ass . I wish fox resto made sometning for you . I have a team visions set on my coupe . I bought them second hand . My buddy never thought he’d see these again so he bought the fox resto ones and both showed up at the same time . Don’t get me wrong it was worth me getting these but the fox resto is better . Mine are already stress cracking in the corners . Nothing anyone would see unless they knew what they were looking for .

Yup I agree. I really think it is a matter of time and someone will if fox resto dont. I had heard rumors that fox resto were preparing to expand to the hatch windows. When some does if it is reuse existing glass or all new, they will kill the prices on the NOS ones IMO.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I’m holding out to see if DCR is doing something for us hatch guys.

While $700 is insane for the DCR coupe windows with the mustang script, I would pay that if there was a hatch option.

Hopefully, the hatch ones are cheaper.

 

[91TwighlightGT]

You could always redo them yourself. I did mine back in the spring. Not 100% stock looking but they look good

I did a similar restoration on both my cars. The only noticeable difference is that there is a character line in the rubber molding that is generally lost in the sanding process, and I do not see a reliable way to keep or restore that line. From my perspective, it was an unimportant detail for my higher mileage cars. If you had a low mileage car that you were restoring (or something more valuable like a 93 Cobra) then I could see spending the extra for NOS windows. For the rest, I think the sand/primer/paint method is perfectly reasonable, still looks good, and only the most hardcore Fox fans will ever notice a difference.

For those that have 3D printers or experience in that, does anyone see that being a viable way to repair these in the future?

 

[Mustang5L5]

There is rubber materials available that can be 3D printing, but the issue is a printer larger enough to print the size of the window

 

[BlakeusMaximus]

I did a similar restoration on both my cars. The only noticeable difference is that there is a character line in the rubber molding that is generally lost in the sanding process, and I do not see a reliable way to keep or restore that line. From my perspective, it was an unimportant detail for my higher mileage cars. If you had a low mileage car that you were restoring (or something more valuable like a 93 Cobra) then I could see spending the extra for NOS windows. For the rest, I think the sand/primer/paint method is perfectly reasonable, still looks good, and only the most hardcore Fox fans will ever notice a difference.

For those that have 3D printers or experience in that, does anyone see that being a viable way to repair these in the future?

Yeah that character line is impossible to recreate. I wasn't that big of a deal for me either. I work in the collision industry and repairing those glasses was the way for me to go. I wasn't going to drop big money on replacements.

 

[2000xp8]

Called fox resto, they suggested they are going to do the hatch windows and put me on an email list.
But no time frame given.

I know my limits, i'm mechanically skilled, but when it comes to something like refinishing them myself, i'll probably start out great and by the time i'm done it will be a mess. I have zero interest in body work and when I have no interest, I know the results reflect it.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Hatch window restoration finally here

1987-93 Ford Mustang Hatchback Quarter Windows Remanufacturing Service

1979-93 Fox-Body Mustang Experts! Located near Charlotte, NC our focus is Foxes and we know them better than anyone! We offer brand new reproduction parts as well as NOS (New Old Stock) and even some good used parts. We are on a mission to 'Save the Foxes'.

www.foxresto.com