Windshield Repair Forum

Customer with a 2011 Honda Odeyssey with large tinted area across top of windshield. Hard to see damage from outside. From inside looked like a drilled or tapped small hole with a batwing and large legs. Seemed like no connection to the small hole. The impact point (small hole surface) seemed like a previous repair cuz it was soft and rubberey. Customer swore it was never repaired. Bug on glass: Pilkinton ASI M179 L A3 80 DOT 15. I explained to customer I may have to drill and pop bullseye to conncet damage? Customer backed off and I did not do repair. Anyone with similar situation?

That break was definitely a previous repair job that was half baked. And you were correct to think that you would likely need to "drill and pop" in some fashion, in order to successfully re-do the botched job. I've heard many times people swear a break wasn't there or had never been fixed, etc when it's absolutely been worked on before. Who knows how or why they think it, but it happens. I had it just this week... lady recently bought a used car, and told me her sister borrowed the car and got hit with a rock, blah blah. So I show up and have to tactfully explain that it was actually an old break that had been repaired before, and how that affects what can be done at this point, etc...

Drilling long cracks has nothing to do with this circumstance.. apples and oranges. Old repairs are a different animal, so you need to throw the book out and get your feet wet.

14u2ponder, who invented long crack repair and when?

I beg to differ with you, proper drilling adds strength to the crack, have a look at places like the aircraft industry where they use this method. Would you care to give us your testing results or anything else you have on the no drill method, personally I feel way better doing long cracks with a stop hole, I will also put a cleat in if I cannot cure behind the rubber.

Well I know long crack repair was being carried out by Novus way before that date, as I was doing plenty of them.

I hope your work load has picked up, last time I read one of your posts you were down to $25 a time.

As for the crack expander I had a Novus one in 1988.

Sorry, but I read your post in another section which said you would be happy to do 4 jobs a day at $25. I cannot even imagine what it would be like to have to work down to those extremely low prices.

So getting back to not drilling an popping, how do you know exactly when the end of the long crack is filled? when often it is beyond the perceived end.

Ok maybe Mcgoo doesnt drill the end of a crack. The guys who actually do this for a living rather than being some fool on the net who either used to repair years ago or maybe bought a kit and does a couple here and there and now I is a espert. The problem with the open board is any Bozo can show and claim expertise. Guys like Screenman who do the cracks for a living and have been honored by his peers with awards like Tech of the year would be the guy I choose to follow. but thats just me. I hardly ever drill a chip but do a crack you better be drilling the end and fill back if you want it to last longer than it takes you to drive away from the finished repair.

I flex the glass from inside and out to get a rough idea of where the end of the crack is, viewed perpendicular of course. I then drill slightly past the perceived end, I then tap a small bullseye and then break the leg into the bullseye. A nice round hole relieves a lot of pressure with the running crack. Now we also know that a properly repaired bullseye is stronger than the surrounding glass, so we have a stop point stronger than the glass itself. Do not think for one instance I have not tried the non drill method as I have, I have also found it to be less stable than the drilled method.

GlassStarz, thank you for your support we have come across many people like this on the forum before.

screenman wrote:I flex the glass from inside and out to get a rough idea of where the end of the crack is, viewed perpendicular of course. I then drill slightly past the perceived end, I then tap a small bullseye and then break the leg into the bullseye. A nice round hole relieves a lot of pressure with the running crack. Now we also know that a properly repaired bullseye is stronger than the surrounding glass, so we have a stop point stronger than the glass itself. Do not think for one instance I have not tried the non drill method as I have, I have also found it to be less stable than the drilled method.

GlassStarz, thank you for your support we have come across many people like this on the forum before.

Like!

A nice round hole relieves a lot of pressure with the running crack.

I have read this before, and I always drill and pop a little bullseye at the end of a crack because I was trained to do that. My understanding was if you made a bullseye, the crack would not be able to jump across the resin in bullseye; but I am unable to visualize why it "relieves the pressure".
Any suggestions here ?

Some cracks are very volatile, especially long cracks. When resin is forced to the end of a tight crack it can cause it to grow. Properly done, drilling can minimize this chances of this happening.