Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

I have an etching kit to install the Ford Bugs on to my glass.
Problem, I have had it a couple of years now and when I went to try it the other day I found that the activator had escaped from its container.
The top was on tight but somehow must have leaked via a bad seal.
Has someone on Fordbarn recently etched their glass, and would they have surplus to requirements some activator that they would be prepared to part with?
The kit was originally sold by Mike Driskell in case there are variations in other suppliers kits.
Thanks
Graham

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

Graham, I just pm’ed you. The activator and etching cream both have a shelf life so check the etching cream to insure it is still good. If it is not I will gladly mail you more.

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

This is a good guy. Support Third Gen Automotive. You won't be disappointed.

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

I'll 2nd that. They take good care of their customers!!

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

Absolutely a quality product! I was very apprehensive about putting an etching solution on a brand new windshield and it worked great! There is no way to tell the difference between the original "bug" and the new kit.

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

I'm sorry and hate to sound uneducated...but what the heck are "Ford Bugs"? I tried google but to no avail.

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

The "bug" is the etched Ford logo and date code info Ford put on the window glass during production.

For those of us who are really anal, we etch the "bug" back onto new glass we re-install during a restoration.

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

In a pinch, they sell glass etching solution in most craft stores. It worked well for me.

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

Gotta be careful with “some” of the store bought etching solutions as some aren’t compatible with the stencils and some can damage paint if accidentally it were to come in contact with it

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

Aren't the original bugs in the middle of two pieces of glass? Do these etching kits have a year with the stencil?

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

No, they aren't sandwiched between the glass. When you order a set, you order them date coded.

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

All we need is your month and year and we supply the rest. On 1937- and up vehicles the windshield takes a different bug from the side windows.

Originally they were media blasted on with a rubber brass stencil. The kit we sell is a acid etch and when finished they look just as original.

Earlier this year we were doing a lot of custom kits, where street rod builders wanted us to make stencils with their logo so that as the car changed hands people always would know who built the car. Clever little idea far fetched from originality

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

As a side note, Bugs were originally placed on the glass to indicate that the glass was safety glass and not just plain plate glass.

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

On an F1, do the bugs face into the cab or face out. I think they face in but want to confirm.

JB

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

Ford had their own glass plants. They certainly wanted folks to know that it was their product.

On flat glass, it can be installed on both right and left sides. If there is no individual part numbers for right and left sides then one side could be on the inside and one could be on the outside depending on which side the bugs were put on at the Ford glass plants. When the vent window assemblies were made, it could end up the same way but Ford usually had them on the outside so they may have had right and left glasses. Replacements could also end up the same way if they used genuine Ford glass.

I don't know what the manufacturing processes were so I can't say whether they were installed in frames at the glass plant or at the assembly agencies. If they were prepped for assembly at the glass plants then the bugs may have been put on for right and left after there was an assembly that could be identified that way. It would be nice to know how they did it but all we have now is actual vehicles that still have the original glass in them. Maybe an original F1 owner will step up.

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

As Ford's engineering drawings were made for the right side component and not for the left side when the components weren't functionally different side to side, flat glass such as door glass of the period would have the logo readable on the inside of the car/cab on the right side and readable on the outside on the left side door glass.

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

There is a complete description about the "bugs" in the 1941/1948 Ford book offered by the V-8 Club. Interesting read.

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

Do these "Bugs" go on all the vehicles glass? How far up in the years do they go?

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

Bttt

Re: Etching Ford Bugs on to glass.
 

That's the same question I had 45-50 years ago when I listened in on conversations about having bugs on glass. It took me awhile to figure out what they were really talking about. :)