Drystar

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Jtmac
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Drystar

Post by Jtmac »

How much faith do you guys have in using your Drystar? Do any of you put off repairs after a heavy rainstorm? I just did a repair today after a heavy storm last night, probably 3 inches of rain. The vehicle was in the sun most of the day and I used my drystar for several minutes attempting to dry it out. I know there was still undected moisture in the break....It was nearly impossible to get resin into the ends of the legs and one leg would not fill. Any thoughts on the issue??
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Re: Drystar

Post by Glass Patch »

Greetings

Back in the 80's we use to use a dry out chemical and I still have some from an old Glasweld system I have. I believe it is some form of alcohol. I often thought of some form of dry out bag that draws out the moister to place on the damage as well. I am still looking at other possibilities.

One other note is you may have needed to do some flexing to get it into the point. In the older days we would look at a problem point crack and treat it as if we would do a crack end repair.
Jtmac
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Re: Drystar

Post by Jtmac »

I worked on it for an hour. It was flexed from both sides of the windshield as well as using heat. I'm convinced it was moisture. I'm not convinced, however, that the drystar tools are 100% effective in removing moisture. Generally, you can tell by looking if there is still moisture present and this one looked dry. What I think is there was still some moisture in the end of the crack. It's all guesses at this point.
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Re: Drystar

Post by Glass Patch »

We may be overlooking the possibility of dirt that can block of sections of a damage. I remember a repair a long time ago where someone tried to squeeze in super glue and to correct his goof up I had to make 2 extra drill holes to fix the damage. I guess 3 spots look a whole lot better than a broke out windshield.
danjrowe27
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Re: Drystar

Post by danjrowe27 »

I hate to be 'that guy' and hijack this thread, but I've been trying to make my own thread and administration hasn't approved it. Emailed them about the issue. Does anyone have an answer?
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Brent Deines
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Re: Drystar

Post by Brent Deines »

Jtmac wrote: August 27th, 2019, 6:18 pm How much faith do you guys have in using your Drystar? Do any of you put off repairs after a heavy rainstorm? I just did a repair today after a heavy storm last night, probably 3 inches of rain. The vehicle was in the sun most of the day and I used my drystar for several minutes attempting to dry it out. I know there was still undected moisture in the break....It was nearly impossible to get resin into the ends of the legs and one leg would not fill. Any thoughts on the issue??
Based on extensive testing and a decade or more of use in our shop and mobile unites I actually have a great deal of faith in the fact that a Dry Star will remove 100% of the moisture from the damaged area if used properly. The fact that you say you used it for several minutes makes me question if you are using the tool correctly as I only use it for 20 seconds at a time and even on the larger breaks have never had to use it more than twice, allowing for the glass to cool down between each use. I cannot imagine how you did not crack the glass if the tool was placed directly on the glass, which is the only way to get the water to evaporate quickly.

As you can read in many other threads on this board I don't recommend dryout chemicals due to the fact that they typically contain alcohol or some other solvent that has been proven to damage the PVB. That's not to say they don't work, but they should not be allowed to come in contact with the PVB.

Brake bleeders or other similar vacuum devices, including some injectors, are sometimes used to help evacuate moisture as well, and often used in conjunction with heating the glass. I haven't had much luck with that personally but apparently some find it a suitable method. Torches and heat guns are also used by some technicians. I don't usually recommend torches because you have to be very careful not to overheat the glass, and not to burn anything else with the open flame but it is a fast and effective way to remove moisture, especially from long cracks, if you are extremely careful and know what you are doing.

Keep in mind that applying too much heat for too long with either a Dry Star or a torch can crack the glass and/or cause delamination. Always warm a large section of glass around the area to be repaired before using either of these tools, and proceed with extreme caution.
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Jtmac
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Re: Drystar

Post by Jtmac »

Thanks Brent. There was no chance of cracking the glass. I didn't have the tool on the break for more than 30 seconds at a time and I never leave it in one place. I always make sure I can touch the glass after heating it so I don't get it too hot....I did however use it quite few times as I was puzzled on what to do. With all the rain we had I just wasn't sure if the moisture was entirely removed and when the one leg wouldn't fill I was more skeptical. Once is a great while, I run onto this where a leg won't fill and it seems like it's always a time when moisture is involved. Could be total coincidence.
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Re: Drystar

Post by Jtmac »

I should have clarified in my original post. I used the tool for several times (3 or 4) for about 30 seconds or so, Letting the glass cool each time. More like a few minutes instead of several. Probably still overkill I realize, but we had a monsoon the night before.
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Re: Drystar

Post by Brent Deines »

Gotcha. Sorry for assuming you meant several minutes at one time...my bad. I do leave the tool in one place directly over the impact point and touching the glass for 20 seconds, or until I see the water bubble and then stop bubbling, which indicates it is gone, but never more than 20 seconds at a time.

Keep in mind that much heat expands the glass, which closes off cracks temporarily, and if you leave it to long will also cause delamination, which is often mistaken for water. One mistake we see technicians make when using a moisture evaporator is that they do not allow the glass to cool down enough after heating, before mounting the injector. Even after the glass feels as if it is cool to the touch, the cracks often remain closed for much longer than you would think. Screenman has written about this many times on the forum, and is absolutely correct. He and I are strong advocates of using the Delta Kits Heat Exchanger or a similar tool designed to pull heat from the glass rapidly. You have to be careful with this tool as well since cooling the glass too quickly can be just as likely to cause a crack out as heating too quickly, but used properly it is amazing how much quicker the cracks will relax and open back up to their pre-heated state.

Assuming you have done everything correctly we have all still had cracks that were very difficult to fill, which brings up another possibility. Sometimes it is the inner layer of glass that is cracked, in which case there is nothing you can do to fill it from the outside without damaging the PVB. If that possibility has been ruled out sometimes removing the bridge and starting the injection process over does the trick, or you may need to flex the glass slightly from the inside, and you may need to leave the injector in the pressure cycle for longer than you are accustomed to it the crack is very tight.

You may have done all of these things and your skill level may surpass mine so forgive me if you tried all of these things to no avail. It's impossible for any of us to say with 100% certainty that we could have gotten the crack to fill, much less determine exactly why it was being so difficult, without actually being there during the repair process. I just try to throw out things that have worked well for me over the years, which is hopefully helpful to forum members and guests who may not have as much experience.
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Re: Drystar

Post by screenman »

What type of UV shield were you using?
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