CliffA
Well-Known Member
- Dec 29, 2009
- 4,712
- Boat Info
- 2001 Sea Ray 340DA
Name: 'Happy Place'
4.5kW West. Generator
Purchased Nov. 2014
Fresh Water Use
- Engines
- Twin Merc. 6.2L (MPI)
640 hp (Total)
Raw Water Cooled
V-Drive Transmissions
i had strataglass windows installed when i had new camper canvas made a few years ago.....it is more expensive than isinglass but the canvas maker convinced me i would like the strataglass better than the isinglass....i am starting to think his reasoning was more about the extra money for him and not really about which product would work best for me..........
my experience with strataglass so far has not been what i expected.....
i had the new canvas designed with straps on each window so that i could roll them up when needed during the transition periods from cool to warm weather when it is cold at night but warm during the day.....when i roll up the windows they get very wrinkled and wavy which is unsightly when i roll them back down...the wrinkles never really fall out completely even when the windows are exposed to direct sunlight for a while....also the first couple of years i stored the windows in the summer by rolling them up with bed sheets in between each one....when i installed them the next fall the windows are even more wrinkled and wavy.....now i hang them flat on the wall of my garage during summer storage which helps some...
also i have to question the claimed 'scratch resistant' coating on the strataglass....in my experience the windows will scratch very easily in spite of this coating....especially the door panel in the canvas....sometimes on a warm day instead of rolling the door up so not to cause additional wrinkles i will leave the door hanging but not zipped to the side panels...when someone enters or leaves the cockpit they just push the door panel aside which causes them to lightly brush against the door panel....this has caused a lot of small scratches in the door panel....
most of my dock friend's boats have isinglass panels...they seem to be much more forgiving as far as not holding wrinkles when rolled up and not scratching as easily....
the reason for this post is to ask if anyone has had the same experience and to also ask if isinglass would be a better product for camper windows if the windows are expected to be rolled up from time to time.....if the windows were never to be rolled up or taken down for summer storage i would see the appeal of strataglass over isinglass due to the claimed better clarity of the strataglass....it is to the point i am seriously considering replacing the wrinkled and scratched strataglass panels with isinglass.....i have tried to use a heat gun on the wrinkles...this helps some but is very time consuming and needs to be repeated each time the panels are rolled up....
thanks for taking the time to read this long post........
cliff
my experience with strataglass so far has not been what i expected.....
i had the new canvas designed with straps on each window so that i could roll them up when needed during the transition periods from cool to warm weather when it is cold at night but warm during the day.....when i roll up the windows they get very wrinkled and wavy which is unsightly when i roll them back down...the wrinkles never really fall out completely even when the windows are exposed to direct sunlight for a while....also the first couple of years i stored the windows in the summer by rolling them up with bed sheets in between each one....when i installed them the next fall the windows are even more wrinkled and wavy.....now i hang them flat on the wall of my garage during summer storage which helps some...
also i have to question the claimed 'scratch resistant' coating on the strataglass....in my experience the windows will scratch very easily in spite of this coating....especially the door panel in the canvas....sometimes on a warm day instead of rolling the door up so not to cause additional wrinkles i will leave the door hanging but not zipped to the side panels...when someone enters or leaves the cockpit they just push the door panel aside which causes them to lightly brush against the door panel....this has caused a lot of small scratches in the door panel....
most of my dock friend's boats have isinglass panels...they seem to be much more forgiving as far as not holding wrinkles when rolled up and not scratching as easily....
the reason for this post is to ask if anyone has had the same experience and to also ask if isinglass would be a better product for camper windows if the windows are expected to be rolled up from time to time.....if the windows were never to be rolled up or taken down for summer storage i would see the appeal of strataglass over isinglass due to the claimed better clarity of the strataglass....it is to the point i am seriously considering replacing the wrinkled and scratched strataglass panels with isinglass.....i have tried to use a heat gun on the wrinkles...this helps some but is very time consuming and needs to be repeated each time the panels are rolled up....
thanks for taking the time to read this long post........
cliff
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