Placing "Ford Script" on glass - The "Bug"

[Doctor's Ford]

My August 33 production Tudor is slowly coming back to life. I have finished adding a correct Ford Script to my new glass and this is a short account of the process I followed. About a year ago I purchased the do-it-yourself kit from Roy Nacewicz. I am very pleased with the kit, has all materials and good instructions and the script design I believe is the correct one, in my case with the correct month and year of production. I decided to post my work in case it can help anyone who is considering doing it. Surprisingly easy if you follow the well written instructions. Of couse, you got to do it right the first time because once the glass has been etched it can not be undone or corrected. I practiced twice on a broken glass and quickly became very comfortable with the process. There are 6 stencils on the kit and each one is good for ever if well cared for.


Glass Etching 1 - Cleaning
I chose the front lower corner of the rear window glass to place the Ford script. First I cleaned the area with regular Glass cleaner



Glass Etching 2 - Masking Stencil
The stencil is positioned as shown and held in place by masking tape making sure it is aligned with glass edges and at same height in all glass pieces. Stencil is flat and on glass without any air bubbles underneath to ensure good etching. The distance is measured from edge of glass to the beginning of the design and same distance was used on all 4 windows.



Glass Etching 3 - Activator
Place a few drops of the Activator on the Stencil and spread it out gently in circular motion with finger tip. Activator is a clear liquid that penetrates through the Script design into glass in preparation for applying the Etching cream. Design details just don't show well on this photo but they were all visible.



Glass Etching 4 - Press on
Using a paper towel put steady pressure all over the Stencil with finger tip to make sure Activator is embedded in stencil



Glass Etching 5 - Blow dry
Wife provided her hair dryer. I applied hot air for about 4 minutes until Stencil completely dry. This step provides a strong bond between the Stencil and the glass and will facilitate the work of the Etching cream in next step.



Glass Etching 6 - Apply Etching cream
Etching cream is applied with a Q-tip. Cream must be spread out while applying pressure on the Stencil in order to penetrate through the design. I applied a second round on areas that on my initial test seemed not to take the Etching easily, especially the "8", "33"" and the letter "F"



Glass Etching 7 - Blot excess cream
Using a wet paper towel I removed excess Etching cream. The Etching process is almost done



Glass Etching 8 - Remove masking tape
Carefully remove all masking tape while holding the Stencil in place and then pull the Stencil itself from a corner.



Glass Etching 9 - Remove Stencil
The design was transferred nicely to the glass. The whitish color is due to the excess cream, which is expected. Almost done, just need to rinse this cream off



Glass Etching 10 - Finished product
I rinsed the glass with water and gently scrubbed it to remove all excess and loose remaining particles of the Etching cream. Design is quite legible and complete and is more visible at certain angles as expected.

[green50]

Nice job...Looks great!

[SofaKing]

Looks great, thanks for tutorial. I assume the 8 33 is for August, 1933. How did you determine what month it was manufactured?

[dwick01]

Very impressive! Thanks for sharing.

[Doctor's Ford]

Originally Posted by SofaKing

Looks great, thanks for tutorial. I assume the 8 33 is for August, 1933. How did you determine what month it was manufactured?

You need the table on page 2-6 of the "Early Ford V-8 Club of America" book. My serial number (found on the fron section of L frame) falls within the August 33 production, 4 cylinder engines.

All 33 and 34 Ford scripts had same design, a number (month) followed by "Ford", followed by 2 digits for the year. I presume there are tables with similar information for subsequent years.

[corvette8n]

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Thanks, always good to have a first hand experience tutorial.

[woodiewagon46]

I just did the "Bugs" on my '46 Station Wagon. At first I was a little apprehensive but after the first try I was truly amazed. I can't tell the difference between an original and the new etching, great product!

[FrankWest]

Originally Posted by green50

Nice job...Looks great!

Thanks for the details!
Did all auto glass have this bug or just the windshield?

[Doctor's Ford]

Originally Posted by FrankWest

Thanks for the details!
Did all auto glass have this bug or just the windshield?

All 6 pieces of glass had them (windshield, small rear, and 4 on the sides). What I could not find out with precision is the exact location. On my Tudor I elected to place them on the L side of windshield and the rear glass, the rear lower corner of the front window and the front lower corner of the quarter windows. You could place them inside or outside, as both ways were found from factory. I elected outside to be readable when looking at the car.

[FrankWest]

Originally Posted by Doctor's Ford

All 6 pieces of glass had them (windshield, small rear, and 4 on the sides). What I could not find out with precision is the exact location. On my Tudor I elected to place them on the L side of windshield and the rear glass, the rear lower corner of the front window and the front lower corner of the quarter windows. You could place them inside or outside, as both ways were found from factory. I elected outside to be readable when looking at the car.

I still have the original windshield on my car with the bug in the lower left hand corner "33". None of my other glass is original.

[klicker]

The reason some bugs are inside and some are outside is that the glass is the same, left to right. The bugs were etched on the same corner and put in a big pile. At this point they wouldn' t know which piece was left or right. So, for example, the bug is on the outside of the right quarter window and on the inside of the left quarter window. I hope this makes sense.....

[john worden]

Thank you for the info. Looks good.

[DavidG]

The reason only your windshield has the trademark is that your car is a standard model which only had safety glass in the windshield and plate glass elsewhere as standard equipment. Safety glass all the way around was an extra-cost option on standard models and standard equipment on deluxe models. For safety's sake you may wish to consider replacing the plate glass with laminated safety glass.

Roy no longer supplies these trademark kits, but they are now offered by Michael Driskell at [email protected]. The process has been revised somewhat.

[FrankWest]

Originally Posted by DavidG

The reason only your windshield has the trademark is that your car is a standard model which only had safety glass in the windshield and plate glass elsewhere as standard equipment. Safety glass all the way around was an extra-cost option on standard models and standard equipment on deluxe models. For safety's sake you may wish to consider replacing the plate glass with laminated safety glass.

Roy no longer supplies these trademark kits, but they are now offered by Michael Driskell at [email protected]. The process has been revised somewhat.

Thanks David! You saved the day again.

If the glass had already been replaced with safety glass I guess the windows be marked in someway, required by law for auto glass. I think mine are plain, but I have to check. This is the first time I would be sorry that Something is original... Well, it is really good to know.

[DavidG]

Perhaps it varies by state, but at least in Michigan there is no requirement that safety glass be visibly identified. When I buy laminated safety glass for my restorations (where I want to add my own markings such as Manuel has shown above) I specify no marks and that's the way it's provided.

Since it is highly unlikely that your side and rear window glass has been replaced with single ply tempered glass, you can determine whether or not you have laminated glass replacements in the doors and quarter windows by looking at the exposed edges of the glass. If it is laminated, a seam will be evident.

[yankee mike]

Good tech!

[outlaw]

Thank you for taking the time to document that & share it with us!

[Ken/Alabama]

Thanks for sharing. I’m just before doing this on one of my cars.

[materguru]

Originally Posted by DavidG

Perhaps it varies by state, but at least in Michigan there is no requirement that safety glass be visibly identified. When I buy laminated safety glass for my restorations (where I want to add my own markings such as Manuel has shown above) I specify no marks and that's the way it's provided.

Since it is highly unlikely that your side and rear window glass has been replaced with single ply tempered glass, you can determine whether or not you have laminated glass replacements in the doors and quarter windows by looking at the exposed edges of the glass. If it is laminated, a seam will be evident.

David
would the 32 Ford Cabriolet be considered deluxe enough for the glass stamps be on the door glass? Lastly, where would you think the "bug" would be on the windshield?
thanks

[DavidG]

The glass all around in a '32 cabriolet was all laminated safety glass like all other deluxe body types.


The "bug" on the windshield was in the lower right hand corner readable from the outside. The glass in the doors would have the "bug" in the lower rear corner readable from the outside on the right side and readable from the inside on the left side (the glass for both doors was the same hence the "bug" is always readable from only one side). The "bug" on the rear window was in the lower right corner and readable from the outside.