Surfaced breaks

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EMCAutoGlass
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Surfaced breaks

Post by EMCAutoGlass »

I had a very nasty break yesterday (sorry, I couldn't attach the picture), and the glass basically started to crumble as I cleaned the pit. I checked the perimeter of the break, and several of the legs/areas were surfaced. The surface of the break was rough and I knew I wouldn't get a vacuum, and the resin would just squirt out when on pressure. The customer wanted me to try anyways, even though expectations were very low. So, I covered the surface with pit filler, cured, drilled into the middle, and then set my injector. Nothing. I couldn't get any resin into it. Even though the pit filler is supposedly too thick to flow into the break, I think it did anyways, which kept me from filling it. I kind of knew this would happen, but I've seen several WSR manufacturers use this procedure. To avoid this from happening next time, I brainstormed a little bit and thought that if I used a standard paper hole punch and punched a hole in the middle of a chip saver, and then placed this over the break, then I would achieve the same the result as covering it with pit filler, but without the risk of the pit filler closing off pathways into the break. Then, just scrape off the chip saver when done. I will give this a try next time with a similar repair, hopefully with better results. If anyone has any other ideas, or has tried the chip saver idea, please share your thoughts.
Thanks!
-Marty
GlassStarz
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Re: Surfaced breaks

Post by GlassStarz »

Sounds like one you might have told the customer wasn't repairable. That said clean the loose GLASS out pit filler and cure well. Then drill into damage fill as best as you can.
Nomad
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Re: Surfaced breaks

Post by Nomad »

If the pit goes to the laminate of almost to it, or is crushed glass all the way to the laminate, then drilling into the original pit will be a deadend hole. Go ahead and do what you did as far as pit filling first but when you drill, drill away from the hole in an area that isn't filled with the pit filler. You might have to drill more than one hole if it doesn't fill from this one. Basically fill as normal but if you have long cracks emanating from the chip that are surfaced, you may have to drill the ends of these too. Whether to repair or not depends on what the customer expects and if the damage is in an are that they will have to look at all the time, even the passenger. For big chips like this you better tell the customer that there will be a significant scar on the glass, but when you get done it won't spread. Using a really high viscosity (thick) pit filler will help in these instances also.
screenman
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Re: Surfaced breaks

Post by screenman »

Your idea will not hold the pressure required, Nomad has the right idea.
EMCAutoGlass
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Re: Surfaced breaks

Post by EMCAutoGlass »

I used very thick pit filler (Delta Kits) and drilled a couple times after I drilled the original pit. Still, I couldn't get any resin into the break. I always give my assessment to the customer before repairing, and suggested that it most likely wouldn't turn out well. The damage was only a few inches from the bottom on the passenger side, so no worries about DPVA, and it's barely visible from inside the car because it's so low. It seems like I did everything right, but maybe I'll have to drill farther from the original pit, or even drill mulitple times to find good passageways to fill the entire break, even if I have to fill the break section by section. Still, I think the expectations for appearance should be low, but as we all agree, the goal is to keep it from spreading.
Thanks for the feedback.
-Marty
screenman
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Re: Surfaced breaks

Post by screenman »

Is there any chance it had been attempted before? Also any chance of a picture if you see the damage again.
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Brent Deines
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Re: Surfaced breaks

Post by Brent Deines »

I agree with screenman, the chip saver alone won't be rigid enough but if the pit is extremely large and you can cut a chip saver so it is just a bit larger than the pit, cover the pit with it, then place a drop or two of glass repair pit resin over the top of the chip saver, making sure there is enough resin to completely cover the edges of the chip saver. Then cover with a curing tab and cure. Once cured you can remove the curing tab and drill into the void. In this instance you do not scrape the resin flush with the surface of the glass before drilling.

Keep in mind the resin cap has to be thick enough to support the pressure from the injector so don't skimp on the pit filler. Even this method has size limitations so don't expect it to work well if you have a pit the size of a nickel.

When you are finished filling the repair, remove the bridge, cover with a curing tab (no pit resin needed at this point) and cure again, and scrape off the excess pit resin and the curing tab used to cover the pit at the beginning of the procedure. At this point you may need to add another drop of pit resin on the surface, cover, cure, scrape and polish as usual.

I also agree with GlassStarz that from the description it may have been best to pass on this one but without seeing it there is no way for me to tell for sure. Generally speaking, the normal capping process works quite well and for me works far better than large pit adapters, however I have had to use the above procedure in a few instances where there was a large pit and a lot of crushed glass that had to be removed before filling the damage. Before attempting on a customer's car I recommend you practice the method on practice glass a few times first to make sure you are getting the desired results. Damage that severe is not likely to be very pretty but if the damage is in an area of the windshield where it is not very noticeable, repair may be a viable option.
Brent Deines
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Nomad
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Re: Surfaced breaks

Post by Nomad »

I have not tried exactly what Brent suggests. I have tried different tapes and even used super glue to adhere a pit tab on the pit. None of these will hold pressure. I think that resin also dissolves most adhesives used in tape. I'll have to try what Brent suggests, it seems to me that it will work because the pit filler bonds around chip saver to keep it from lifting. If you are going to do what I suggested above you might drill part way through the first layer and then use a slide hammer to break a piece out of the bottom of the hole so you know that the resin has a way to get into the chip.

This is one reason that this business is so interesting, you will run into breaks that take some serious thinking as to how to proceed. Most of the time it can be the same old same old, but once in a while you have the opportunity to really apply your skills and knowledge to something different, something that very few would attempt to repair. If you get a reputation as the "go to guy" for fixing things other people won't touch, especially long cracks, you will find that you are in greater demand than the average chip fixer. People will come to you even for smaller chips because they will know you are willing to spend time and effort to do a good job.
bill lambeth
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Re: Surfaced breaks

Post by bill lambeth »

I agree with screen ! Sounds like it might have been an old repair. I cap and drill very often with no problem except for it makes the chip slow to fill. I hate pit adapters.
EMCAutoGlass
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Re: Surfaced breaks

Post by EMCAutoGlass »

IMG_7671 - Copy.jpg
IMG_7671 - Copy.jpg (139.76 KiB) Viewed 649 times
Here's the pic. I had to crop it down to shrink the file size. Who would have attempted this repair, and who would have declined? It looked quite a bit worse in person too, but you can at least see the major issues in the picture.

Brent,
Thanks for the tech tip. I like the idea of covering just the pit with a small/cut chip saver, then going through the normal capping procedure. I will give it a shot next time.

Nomad,
Excellent points, I agree 100%, and that's exactly what I'm going for. I am definitely trying to be the "go to guy" in my area, and this forum is a great place to keep adding to my toolbox. I like the challenge, and I actually enjoy doing the long cracks. I have a great system for them and I'm quite successful. Also, I'm fairly certain I'm the only guy in my area doing them. I don't mind spending a little extra time to get the job done right and giving the customer what they want. Every break is just a little different, and I'm sure even the 20+ year guys see something new every once in a while.

Thanks again everyone!
-Marty
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