Windshield Repair Forum

While no new comer to the trade ,I am some times slow to pick up on new tools and techniques. I will admit to having a Lil buddy and two sets of cups both Aegis and Woods and most tools to get through any job .Land Rover/BMW wiper puller and the 5 sided "torx" socket needed to do a a Land Rover sun roof . SO strong in some areas and weak in others.
I am considering buying a wire removal tool ,more for doing R-R than glass replacement . Right now I have a set of very nice wire handles and the Triangle wire as well as the braided wire . I find it does a great job for a lot of exposed edge windows and even some encapsulated units .Most major companies are introducing them and I going to wait for the dust to settle ,but am looking for some feedback from anyone who has used one in daily use and what they like and dislike .
Or if they think they are a waste of money lets hear that as well.


GG

I haven't used anything like this but am interested in this thread to see what other say. I have been observing some newer high-end vehicles where it appears that the top of the glass will be very difficult to remove with a cold knife without totally destroying a paint job. This concerns me greatly as I will be seeing these cars in a couple of years, perhaps sooner. And as I've seen so often in many replacements, the T105 moulding isn't going to work on my customer's Audi haha! Let's hear it!!

I'm a former factory trained Mercedes Benz tech. We used a tool called Rollout 2000 on all of our windshield replacements. I've only used this particular tool to remove windshields and I loved it. Effortless to work with and prevents paint scratching when used properly. Often times after cutt out the urethane was already cut to the proper heighth and ready for new glue.

I am new to the business and the operation I have been training with is all old school cold knives and chisels. I am looking to purchase a removal tool like the ezi wire, rollout 2000 or the viper. For whatever reason, I cannot seem to find a website that allows me to purchase the ezi wire system. I have some questions about them though. Which do you all prefer, and why? Is the wire on either system reusable? Some use cord, like the viper. Under what circumstances would I opt for cord? The other tool I am interested in is a lifting and placement tool like lil buddy. Some of the work that is part of the business I am buying is for larger windshields like delivery sprinters and rv's. I am working alone at first. There are a few like it. What do you guys prefer? Is it worth the grand? Thanks in advance...

As I work for Safelite, all we are "allowed" to use is the ezi wire system with the fiber wire. Works well except when it gets cold, then hopefully they give us some wire which they hold onto like its gold. Also the setting tool we use is the tec one, which is an upgrade from the lil buddy. I have set many sprinters by myself with it so it works well.

I have used a few of the wire systems and have been doing R&Rs for Mercedes Benz USA , Jaguar ,Maserati, Land Rover etc. for decades , the MB rollout 2000 typically cannot be purchased for private use . Any of the systems Equalizer tools sells is perfectly adequate to do most any removal , I like the Viper as i`m in the body shops quite a bit and it has a small suction cup for 1/4 glass removal works well. I use cord on anything with an aluminum body to hinder corrosion. There will be a new generation of powered wire tool coming out soon ......so i`m told

I've owned the python by equalizer for about a year now and I find myself going back to my equalizer express stingray where ever possible it's much faster and I have much fewer problems I find in the humid sumers here the suction cup likes to slide instead of cuts in thicker urethane areas I've also switched glass cleaners recently to a more potent one and started cleaning the inside of the old glass prior to doing anything which seemed to help at the end be of everything I would definitely recommend buying one of these tools no matter what u find they're all the same idea in the end and work the same but realize nothing is perfect and there's I right tool for every job

If you work by yourself the only system to use is "Glass Bot". I have great luck using this. Wiring out a windshield is a huge pain. Why go to the extra work of climbing in out of the car to crank a handle when you can just press a button?