How to get rid of moisture in legs of star break?

[usmc68]

Sounds to me you are trying to reinvent the wheel. Contact Delta and buy their Dry Star dry out tool and be done in 20-30 seconds. Let the glass cool , and finish your repair! Heck, you could even use your car cigarrette lighter- same thing!

[paulrsf]

Sounds to me you are trying to reinvent the wheel. Contact Delta and buy their Dry Star dry out tool and be done in 20-30 seconds. Let the glass cool , and finish your repair! Heck, you could even use your car cigarrette lighter- same thing!

Seems we've visited this topic before. When I first starting doing repairs I used the Dry Star on every repair just to make sure there was no moisture present. Though I use it regularly, it is not without apprehension. I have had several bad experiences with windshields cracking regardless of the precautions I've taken to ensure that I don't overheat, heat to fast, not allow enough time for cooling, etc. If there is some straight forward advice about how to use the Dry Star with more predictable results I sure would like to hear your comments and advice.

[Master chip]

In response to BrightfastWSR question of maximum temperature to dry moisture in a break I believe the industry standard for laminated glass is 115-135 degrees. Workable temperature is 65-85 degrees. No need to purchase a dryer if you don't have a IR thermometer. Otherwise cracking will surely occur. As stated by almost everyone in these posts you have to purchase the right equipment if you are going to do repairs. Not an option.

[screenman]

You can control the amount of heat by holding either the drystar or a torch further from the glass, I have both in my dry out kit. Anybody saying either is too hot has not thought this through properly.

My earlier post about chasing moisture from the end of the legs towards the centre still stands.

[BrightFastWSR]

Sounds to me you are trying to reinvent the wheel. Contact Delta and buy their Dry Star dry out tool and be done in 20-30 seconds. Let the glass cool , and finish your repair! Heck, you could even use your car cigarrette lighter- same thing!

Why not if I can reinvent a better wheel, it will be helpful to all technicians in this forum for safer and more effective ways to get the moisture out .

I have seen several technicians' bad experience on Dry Star in this forum, for me it is just one selection but not the only one and I am finding other effective method. The topics like "Star cracked 4" when using moisture evaporator" and "moisture evaporator episode" help me a lot with for my questions.

Thanks to everyone involved in this topic,especially Screenman, you are very helpful all the time and give valuable suggestions.

[screenman]

Thank you, I try my best.

[mikenieves]

Sounds to me you are trying to reinvent the wheel. Contact Delta and buy their Dry Star dry out tool and be done in 20-30 seconds. Let the glass cool , and finish your repair! Heck, you could even use your car cigarrette lighter- same thing!

Why not if I can reinvent a better wheel, it will be helpful to all technicians in this forum for safer and more effective ways to get the moisture out .

I have seen several technicians' bad experience on Dry Star in this forum, for me it is just one selection but not the only one and I am finding other effective method. The topics like "Star cracked 4" when using moisture evaporator" and "moisture evaporator episode" help me a lot with for my questions.

Thanks to everyone involved in this topic,especially Screenman, you are very helpful all the time and give valuable suggestions.

buy a dry vac system

[DryStar]

Dry vac systems (do not remove moisture). If they did everybody would have one! Some companies state they have chemical solutions to remove moisture but so far I believe the only way to remove it, is with a heat source.

[mend master]

I use the drystar as well, but I am cautious with it. 20 seconds on has caused major running twice for me. I find it better to go 15 seconds on, 2-3 minutes off, then 15 seconds more if necessary. Its also a good idea to use an IR thermometer and glance at your watch until you really get the feel for how to use the tool effectively. No doubt, it works very well. One just has to be careful and not get over that 115-135 degree range as previously mentioned. Bad things happen when laminated glass gets too hot. If the glass is already too hot to keep your hand on or lay an arm on without crying out in agony, its too hot and MUST be cooled or you will most likely run the thing with or without a drystar. Moisture becomes a secondary issue very quickly at that point.
There is another technique you can try that does work, but no doubt will be dissed by some of the "experts" we have here. Place the injector in a vacuum mode and heat the glass from the inside. Moisture evaporates at 115 degrees under vacuum. I used this technique successfully many times before buying a drystar. Using a lighter or mini torch requires practice and things can get hot in a hurry. You also have to be certain that there is no aftermarket window tinting, embedded radio antenna (rarely done anymore), rain sensor, etc. that may be irreparably damaged. These issues and the fact that it just looks much more professional is why I chose to go with the drystar.

[Brent Deines]

I disagree with the 115-135 degree Fahrenheit maximum temperature for drying out a break. You can get the glass that hot with a hair dryer but in my testing it will take you all day to dry out a break that way. If 135 degrees Fahrenheit there would be no need to remove moisture in the summertime in many parts of the USA and around the world. Just wait a couple of minutes after going through a car wash and you would be good to go. But we know that is not the case. Even in hot climates moisture is an issue. The moisture evaporator is designed to bring the water in the glass to the boiling point. If you put a mirror on the inside of the glass and preheat the moisture evaporator until the element is red hot, then place the tool directly over the impact point (touching the glass), you should see the water begin to bubble in 10-15 seconds depending on the size of the damage. A few seconds later the bubbles stop and the break is dry. Total dry time is typically 17-20 seconds, again, depending on the size of damage. That is why the instructions recommend a 20 second heat cycle...it almost always "completely" removes the moisture.

In our testing, repeated heating and cooling of a damaged windshield, even if heating to lower temperatures, is far more likely to result in a crack out than using the moisture evaporator as instructed. Where a lot of technicians experience difficulties is if they fail to warm the glass sufficiently prior to using the moisture evaporator. I prefer to heat the glass to well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit prior to using the moisture evaporator and when doing so I always heat an area several inches around the break.

If repeated heating and cooling, holding the tool away from the glass, moving the tool in circles, or using something other than the recommended temperature/time application guidelines for the moisture evaporator works for you, then by all means keep doing what you are doing, but the majority of tech support calls we receive on this issue are due to people not following our instructions.

I also recommend a heat exchanger to cool the glass directly after the moisture evaporator is removed so the glass is only super heated a matter of seconds before it is returned to the temperature of the surrounding glass. From there we continue cooling the entire windshield until it is within our preferred working temperature, or as close as we can reasonably expect depending on weather conditions. Keep in mind that if your heat exchanger is too cold when you place it on the glass it may cause the glass to crack.

In my opinion it's not heat that cracks the glass in most instances, but the failure to properly preheat the glass prior to using the moisture evaporator or post cool the glass directly after use. Contrary to popular belief, hot glass is not more volatile than cold glass. In fact, there is evidence to suggest just the opposite as glass becomes more fluid and therefore more pliable when heated. However, rapid heating and rapid cooling certainly increase the chance of a crack out so caution should always be exercised when drying out a break regardless of the method you choose.

The with using a vacuum to lower the surface pressure on the water that is in the break, thereby lowering the boiling point, is that you are then heating from the back of the glass you are having to apply far more heat than if you heated from the front. Instead of the heat source being directly on the surface you need it, you are now having to heat "through" the inner layer of glass and the laminate. This requires several times more heat to accomplish the same task, effectively negating the potential benefit of the vacuum. To test this for yourself, using a surface thermometer to monitor the temperature of the glass. Start with a glass temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit (inside and out), then heat the inside to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Now measure the outside of the glass. Results may vary but you will notice that the inside is considerably hotter than the outside. You don't even really need a thermometer for this as you can easily feel the difference in temperature by holding a finger against the glass on either side.

Again, there are many different ways to skin a cat, as the saying goes. For instance, a few years ago a Novus technician used a torch to dry out a chip in the Windshield Repair Olympics. It's not the method I would have chosen because I think the moisture evaporator is a safer option, but he got the chip dried out, performed a great repair, and took 1st place in the competition. I still don't recommend using a torch in most instances, but I'm certainly not going to say he did anything wrong. Screenman and I have a few differences of opinion even though we have both spent hours upon hours of testing different equipment and methods. I do have to give him credit for the heat exchanger however. I had not thought of using a heatsink to cool the glass and was pleasantly surprised when I tried it. The end result is far more important than how you get there so there is plenty of room for differing opinions.

One last thing. I'm all for trying new techniques and inventing new tools. I did not invent the Dry Star (moisture evaporator) and it took me over a year of testing before I was convinced it was safe to use and started offering it to my customers. Most of you know I don't believe in contaminating a break with chemicals that come in contact with the laminate and at this time my opinion is that the moisture evaporator is the best option we have for quickly drying out breaks. Still, someone will come up with something better some day and when they do that is what I will recommend. In addition to the moisture evaporator and heat exchanger, the slide hammer was also invented by a forum member and the depth gauge by yet another forum member. I test every method I hear about and every tool I can get my hands on in a constant attempt to improve my skills and provide quality tools for my customers. I reject the vast majority but never without thoroughly testing the method or tool myself first. When you stop learning you start dying.