Speaking of port lights..   It appears that the glass in our port lights is made up of two pieces of glass and has now begun to delaminate.  We have staining between the sheets of glass.  Our port lights are bronze, on the inside of the light  there are fine threads and a bronze retaining ring.  In the retaining ring there are two holes (I assume that they are there to assist with installing the original glass).  

Question:

1.  Has anyone repaired this problem before?  If so how?  
2. Is there a tool I can buy that will fit the holes to help remove the retaining ring? If so, where can I buy one OR do I need to have one made?
3. I expect the retaining rings may be seized in place, is there anything that will help free it up for removal? 

I've been told you have to break the glass then remove the ring and replace the glass then remove the ring and replace the glass.  If that has been your experience, please let me know.  All other suggestions appreciated.  Don

I re-did all of my portlights a few years ago. It was a bit of a bugger, but I had to break the glass with a hammer (weird smell from the material in between) then pick out the remaining bits from under the ring. With the glass out I had a friend fabricate a tool (a pin wrench) to turn the rings, one side for the small port lights, one side for the large.

The tool wasn't very sturdy, and I loaned it to another member who (not surprisingly, because the tool was flimsy, not 'cause the other member was careless) broke off one of the pins. I have pics of the tool on here, I think. See my album, Portlight Covers for all of them.

The pin wrench was mostly helpful to get the rings on again quickly afterwards, without messing up the silicone I used to seal it. 6 years later they are looking good.

In October I replaced the glass in all 10 of my port lights. It was relatively easy. I removed the opening portion of the port light that contained the glass. I pried out the gasket material using small screwdrivers to get it started and carefully took it all the way out. There were a number of #4 machine screws. Most came right out, those that made contact with the intuding water were a bit corroded and the heads spun off of those. When I reassembled the port I had to drill and tap for replacements. Once all of the screws were out I soaked the portlight in hot water, and after a short time I was able to push the glass out. I did not need to break any of them. I cleaned off the old sealant, bedded the new glass, flipped the old seal over and reused it. I put the ports in 42 years ago. The only annoying part of the program was the $50 each for the new glass.

Hey Stephen and Werner,

If you still have the tool and are willing to let me try it on my portlights, I'll pay for shipping to California?  If not, that's cool too.

Don

Werner,

Thanks so much for the offer, I'll email you my address separately. Pass it along for sure.

Thanks,

Don