Eisenglass Cleaning or Replacement?

sfergson727 said:
If you go with strata, let me know who you use and what the price is, as I am looking at replacing mine as well.

Thanks
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I am going with a canvas guy that Chicago Sea Ray uses who quoted $1,275 to replace all the eisenglass with strattaglass. This shop must be located around Round Lake, IL which might be too far for you. CSR will take the curtains off the boat after it is in storage and either take them to the canvas guy or he will pick it up. Then the canvas guy will take the finished canvas back up to Lake Geneva storage and install it back on the boat.
 
The 303 protectorant(sp) is available at West Marine. Have used it throughout the boat and panels and looks great. Stuff falls off!
 
320Bob said:
I am going with a canvas guy that Chicago Sea Ray uses who quoted $1,275 to replace all the eisenglass with strattaglass. This shop must be located around Round Lake, IL which might be too far for you. CSR will take the curtains off the boat after it is in storage and either take them to the canvas guy or he will pick it up. Then the canvas guy will take the finished canvas back up to Lake Geneva storage and install it back on the boat.
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I've replaced mine last spring. Got a great deal from Greate Lakes, paid around $550 or so for all 5 front pieces.
 
Alex F said:
I've replaced mine last spring. Got a great deal from Greate Lakes, paid around $550 or so for all 5 front pieces.
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That's a good price but you rewarded the people who put the crappy glass on your and my boats in the first place. On principle, I would not give these people my business for that reason. Did they replace it with eisenglass or strattaglass?

Carver370,
I spoke with Andy of Ship Shape Canvas and he would have charged somewhere btween $1,600 to $2,000 that would have included replacing all the stitching with non-rotting teflon thread, cleaning the Sumbrella material, replacing the forward curtains with strattaglass with ties to fold back and attach to the bimini and polycarbonate for the rear curtain with a case that it could have been stored in without bending the glass. The case would have fit under the bed mattress. Since he is in Michigan and my boat is now stored at Lake Geneva, WI, it did not make logistical sense for me to deal with him although this would have been a better job for a few hundred dollars more.
 
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Bob,

I don't disagree. However, I had one criteria that kept me away from strataglass. My boat came with customized u-zippers on all 5 pannels, which allows me to roll up the windows. I loved the feature and wanted to keep the same. From what I herd strata is not as flexible and wont be able to roll as the regular isenglass. So, when I got the quote from Great Lakes, it was no brainer. Actually, only front pannels that needed replacement, so theoretically I could have spent only like $300 or so, but I wanted to keep it all fresh for another $200. To get the final product I had to take my pannels to local shop and add the u-zippers the way I wanted, which was extra. I'm hoping to get 4 years out of them. If they go bad much faster I'll be looking at the alternative. Keep us posted how things work out with strataglass.
 
Moose said:
The 303 protectorant(sp) is available at West Marine. Have used it throughout the boat and panels and looks great. Stuff falls off!
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What do you use for cleaning the panels, seats etc?? same 303??
 
sfergson727 said:
I've always wondered, do the U shaped zipper panels leak? Ventilation is a major problem with the isinglass up, and I could certainly see the benefits of doing it, but I don't want it if it leaks a bunch.
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If the zippers are not covered, they leak like a civ. If covered, they should be fine. I could not imagine not being able to open and close mine in an instant when wanted. I still can't figure out how the Fl guys (Hampton) manage without easily removable or opening front panels, not just the center. I would burn up without the wind myself.
 
sfergson727 said:
I've always wondered, do the U shaped zipper panels leak? Ventilation is a major problem with the isinglass up, and I could certainly see the benefits of doing it, but I don't want it if it leaks a bunch.
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I had the U zippers installed in my eisenglass, and yes, they do leak. If I had to do over, I would install "N"'s in the glass, they would leak much less.

Has anyone used PLEDGE on their eisenglass? I have read from several places that this was not recommended, but a couple of boat club members swear by it (and their eisenglass looks great....hard to argue with someone who's eisenglass looks better than your....).
 
Hampton said:
Note: Polycarb - cannot be rolled up. If I had it to do over, as I was telling my wife this morning, I would have done the back, center of the camper in polycarb just like all of the front windows. The back center is too big to roll up anyway, so I would lift it in an secure it to the inside top of the camper like I do the front center piece.

It would be just flexible enough to clear the back seat top.
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You did the impeller change thread with photo's,what I would like to see is some photos of your isinglass. How it looks whee down and fastened up.

I am curious as how the two sections to either side of the windshield center section look, and how the center section when you have it up inside looks. Do these two sections curve a bit?

Thanks
 
Alex F said:
I've replaced mine last spring. Got a great deal from Greate Lakes, paid around $550 or so for all 5 front pieces.
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I had Strataglass installed for the front 5 pieces with teflon thread, top quality zippers and canvas for $750 plus tax.
 
Has anyone used Flitz on their eisenglass, and results if any.

Rich
 
Eisenglass comes in different grades with the thickest being the most expensive. It holds up the best. We are going into our 6th season and it still looks great although I scratched it when cleaning it on a picnic bench last year. I laid it on a beach towell, but something on the table was sharp. Most of the scratches came out with some mild rubbing compound and elbow grease. It is up all of the time on our boat and Plexus once a month keeps it looking great. It gets washed once a week with the rest of the boat using a lot of soapy water and one of those soft brushes on a stick. I may replace it in a year or two, but that will be because of those scratches that I see. No one else seems to notice.
 
I finally went to see my boat in storage a week ago and inspected one of my new strataglass panels with a U zipper. Unfortunately the curtains were not put up yet or I would have snapped a picture and posted it. The curtains were all rolled up from the canvas company so apparently there is no problem with rolling up strataglass as some others have mentioned.

The Service Manager at Chicago Sea Ray said they have had problems with eisenglass on boats kept on Lake Geneva due to liquid fertilizer spread along the shore getting airborne discoloring the panels. Apparently the fertilizer chemicals react with the vinyl discoloring it.
 
My canvas guy replaced all the eisenglass (front) 5 pcs last season for $60 each and the large window in the rear for $75 he said only use plexus it's more money but will not harm the glass i tried it and sure enough,,, he uses JOY dish soap w/o any bleach i think for cleaning canvas wont harm or bleach it out
 
frozen with salt said:
My canvas guy replaced all the eisenglass (front) 5 pcs last season for $60 each and the large window in the rear for $75 he said only use plexus it's more money but will not harm the glass i tried it and sure enough,,, he uses JOY dish soap w/o any bleach i think for cleaning canvas wont harm or bleach it out
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We use Ivory Soap because it does not strip wax and is easy on the hands.
 
Pseudomind said:
You did the impeller change thread with photo's,what I would like to see is some photos of your isinglass. How it looks whee down and fastened up.

I am curious as how the two sections to either side of the windshield center section look, and how the center section when you have it up inside looks. Do these two sections curve a bit?

Thanks
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They do curve a bit. (Really behind on this site.) There is no eisenglass on my boat. The front is Makrolon (polycarbonate) and the back is Strataglass.

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I just purchased a 2007 meticulously maintained 44 Sedan Bridge in Miami. The eisenglass could have been used in a shower enclosure thats how bad it was. Trust me when I say nothing works! The fog that developes is not just a surface problem it is the glass itself. The boat companies only use it because it's cheap. This garbage cannot withstand the sun no matter what part of the country your boat is used. Some areas of mine were so bad When I tried to roll them they cracked like thin brittle hard plastic!
I just had them all redone locally with stratoglass 30mil and it looks beautiful! It wasn't real cheap but the canvas and zippers were still in great shape and that saved me a lot. I paid about $1,200 for the entire bridge area it sounds expensive but 3 of the 8 peices have a roll up center section with screens and all but the center front section are also smoked.
The glass is as clear as any auto window whitch makes navigating a pleasure.
 
Bob,

Congrads on the boat purchase. I thought stratoglass doesn't roll up. Do you have pictures of your new beauty?
 
Alex F said:
Bob,

Congrads on the boat purchase. I thought stratoglass doesn't roll up. Do you have pictures of your new beauty?
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As I said in my post above, the panels were not installed on the boat only rolled up in a plastic garbage bag sitting on the cockpit seat. Because they were rolled up by the canvas guy, there doesn't seem to be a problem. The link below by the manufacturer says that it should unroll okay on a hot day and if not, you can gently use a heat gun. Also he put some velcro ties on the uzip panels to hold the rolled up strataglass. When the boat is delivered to my marina, hopefully March 26th, I'll get some pictures and post them here so you and others can see what was done. I need to get some Imar strataglass cleaner and polish since these products are specifically for strataglass which has a coating that eisenglass does not.

The eisenglass panels that these replaced were almost in as bad condition as what Bob Rowe had on his boat which was 1 year newer than mine.

http://www.strataglass.com/content/view/31/66/
 
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