How to add date code to windshield

[Keith B.]

Can someone tell me how to find a template for a stencil for the date code on a windshield? I believe that I can use a form of acid etch to make it proper. Is there anyone who can help with stencil that I need. very basic. I do not need the LOF portion only the 2 little letters for the the date code. I do not think I could hand cut anything that small.

[Mark F.]

Re: How to add date code to windshield

Keith,

The only acid I know of that will etch glass is hydrofluoric (HF) and I don't know what concentration you would need to replicate the etch you want.

If you go that way and get a satisfactory template, be aware that HF can be an insidious hazard because if you get it on your skin, it does not always burn and cause immediate pain (warning signs) like other mineral acids do (nitric; sulfuric; perchloric; HCl as examples)...

From the CDC:

Even small splashes of high-concentration hydrogen fluoride products on the skin can be fatal. Skin contact with hydrogen fluoride may not cause immediate pain or visible skin damage (signs of exposure).

Visible damage may not appear until 12 to 24 hours after the exposure.

Good luck, but be careful...

[David H.]

Re: How to add date code to windshield

Can someone tell me how to find a template for a stencil for the date code on a windshield? I believe that I can use a form of acid etch to make it proper. Is there anyone who can help with stencil that I need. very basic. I do not need the LOF portion only the 2 little letters for the the date code. I do not think I could hand cut anything that small.

Keith

Windshield is judged by Standard Deduction #4 - Not CDCIF.

Your question about adding Date only to your glass imply it is a replacement glass.

Check SDG #4 to assess how your windshield will be judged.

Dave

[Mike M.]

Re: How to add date code to windshield

years ago I bought a half dozen 53-55 windshields from Dale Smith, owner of OEM Glass (no longer in business as dale died underneath a restored farm tractor). anyway, several of the windshields weren't dated so dale stopped at our farm on the way to corvettes at carlisle. he had a metal case full of flexible rubber templates , asked for an air hose to hook to his mini-sandblaster. took him less than a minute to add the needed data. mike mccagh

[Larry E.]

Re: How to add date code to windshield

years ago I bought a half dozen 53-55 windshields from Dale Smith, owner of OEM Glass (no longer in business as dale died underneath a restored farm tractor). anyway, several of the windshields weren't dated so dale stopped at our farm on the way to corvettes at carlisle. he had a metal case full of flexible rubber templates , asked for an air hose to hook to his mini-sandblaster. took him less than a minute to add the needed data. mike mccagh

Mike: I knew Dale as he installed a dated Windshield in my TOP Flight 68 Coupe. He had worked at the Ottawa
IL LOF plant(before he started his business) that made all the Windshields for the older Corvettes. When they closed he had all the factory coded dies. No clue what happened to them. Larry

[Joseph W.]

Re: How to add date code to windshield

If one is looking for a small sand blaster to etch a date into glass here is a company that makes excellent ones.

They are commonly used in the dental profession.

https://www.vaniman.com

[Tim G.]

Re: How to add date code to windshield

I had a '67 Corvette that had a correct configuration windshield that was dated November '68, obviously replaced early in its life. When I found an original properly dated windshield to put in my car, I gave the windshield to a friend in Florida who dated it for a 1967 Corvette. I'm not sure how he did it, but it ended up in a '67 Corvette in Houston and looked great.