Star break cracked out

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shawn2369
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Star break cracked out

Post by shawn2369 »

I am newer to the chip repair busniess. Today I worked on a star break. It appeared to be a normal break. I set up my tool. I put in the resin and then went to the pressure cycle. All looked normal to me. It was an outside repair so I covered the injector tool with a cloth and went about my business on the rest of the chips. The temp was cool/warm. When I returned to the star break for the vaccum cycle the star break cracked out. I was able to fill the star break nicely. I was able to drill the end of the crack to stop it and I filled the crack to the best of my ability. Overall, it got done and looked fine but I am concerned about the cracking out. How often does this happen to people? Is it possible I put to much pressure on the injector tool? Is there away to be more aware of this before it happens? I am open to advice and learning for the future.
screenman
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Re: Star break cracked out

Post by screenman »

Hi, what tools were you using and have you been trained? also how many repairs have you carried out on a scrap windshield.

Was the leg that cracked surface or subsurface, did you dry out and what tools did you use to do so.

A good flex and inspection before doing anything about putting tools on the glass will always give you an indication of if a leg will run or not.

Most runs are caused by incorrect setup or too much pressure, or extreme heat, which get the first two correct will still not be a problem.
shawn2369
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Re: Star break cracked out

Post by shawn2369 »

I had a one day training on the delta kit. I have practiced on two windshields and continue to do so. I have completed about 75 repairs so far. The windshield was not wet. The temp was around 13 C. I think that would be about 60 F. On this repair I used the B250 bridge. I did an inspection and there was a nice size crack there maybe 1.5 inch or more. I am not sure if it was surface or not. I guess it is possible I put to much pressure on the injector when I screwed it down but I am certain it was only about 1/2 turn once it hit the surface of the glass. Leveling pins were also about an additional 1/2 turn once they were on the glass. Maybe on these types of chips I will do less than a 1/2 turn to not put to much pressure. Do you think that is where the difficulty came from.
Dave M
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Re: Star break cracked out

Post by Dave M »

I assume you have read on this forum how many techs will perform multiple repairs at one time. It appears that you were doing the same ("rest of the chips"). My suggestion is to stay with one repair for now to keep a close eye on what is going on. Wait until you have some experience under your belt before you attempt multiple repairs at one time. You may have seen that crack start to expand and quickly loosen your injector resulting in a shorter crack out.
screenman
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Re: Star break cracked out

Post by screenman »

Shawn, I would say a bit too much pressure on the setup, may have been the problem. As Dave says though keep an eye on things all the time in these early days.

Often I like to setup a slight as I possible can as this allows more room for the resin to flow, it is not unusual for me to get a little seepage from the injector due to how light I have it, even more so on bullseye and combination breaks.
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Re: Star break cracked out

Post by candyman »

I agree with the others in regard to doing one at a time for now. Remember, the leveling legs on the back can add pressure, even though you only turned the injector 1/2 turn. If I see just a little resin, Its fine in most cases. Things like that happen. When I hear the word crack out I'am usually thinking a foot or more.
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SteveK
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Re: Star break cracked out

Post by SteveK »

I'm a few years late to this post, but I'll throw my 2 cents in because this is important.

I don't know what this break looked like but you said one leg was an 1 1/2 inches. That emphasis on one leg implies it was longer than the others and qualifies as an extended leg.

Most star breaks crack out because the extended legs were not drilled and tapped. Sometimes you will have to drill and tap many of the legs, if they are extended, to ensure a quality repair. It's time consuming and doesn't give you the end appearance you want, but sometimes its necessary to prevent you causing a replacement.
screenman
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Re: Star break cracked out

Post by screenman »

I would not drill a leg that size as I am confident that Magnibond will hold it for me. I would though flex the crack and maybe even use a magnifying glass to see that I have filled it completely. I do a lot of high end cars where cosmetics is everything, I would have used the drill in the old Novus day's.
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