Windshield Repair Forum

Does anyone here have experience using American Windshield Repair Systems or Applied Colors WC500? (They're the same kit) Haven't had much luck finding good reviews.

I am just starting out but have repaired about 50 practice chips and 40 or so customers(Been mentored by a man with 25 years of experience who used the American repair system and recommended it to me).
I am generally happy with the performance of the American repair system except for the vacuum cycle which in the Delta videos the vacuum system of their products seems vastly superior and I am in the process of converting to a delta kits bridge as the rest of my gear is Delta. Here is a chip I repaired on my practice glass a few days ago using the American Repair System, using their repair resin and delta kits pit resin and delta polish

Also, you experienced guys please check my work and please give me some critique.

http://imgur.com/65jJvue.jpg

http://imgur.com/z35Epw9.jpg

I did not use img tags so you could see the pics at full resolution.

Ok. Thanks for the info. That's really helpful. I've been researching repair kits for a while as I'm planning on doing this on the side. If I can get a kit for about $250-$300 that gets the job done with good results thats the way I'm gonna go to get started. Another affordable kit that looks good is the Power Tech system by Autoglass Solutions. I'm not finding reviews on that kit either. Maybe I'm not looking in the right place. Any info on that one would be appreciated as well. Thanks for your reply.

Did you use the lighter like they recommend, because it looks like you may have gotten the glass a little too hot. May just be my eyes. I use the American bridge and I have not had any problems. Heat is not needed to fill the breaks though. I don't ever use a lighter to heat the windshield. It's just a simple screw type injector.

HBCC, no heat required on that one at all, unless of course it held some moisture in it, but it has been over pressured. On a repair like that you would want to see no more than just the pit when finished.

What method did your friend train you to dry out?

Dr.Chipster wrote:Did you use the lighter like they recommend, because it looks like you may have gotten the glass a little too hot. May just be my eyes. I use the American bridge and I have not had any problems. Heat is not needed to fill the breaks though. I don't ever use a lighter to heat the windshield. It's just a simple screw type injector.

I use heat only ever at the beginning of the repair to remove moisture and I am very careful when doing so and even have a laser temperature gun to make sure the glass is back to its original temperature before beginning a repair. I was hoping someone might have shed some light on the seemingly now visible extra legs that seem to have sprouted above but did not want to directly ask to get an unbiased opinion first.
Viewing the repair with your eyes, these resin legs are almost invisible but I was glad they showed so well in the picture. So yes I used heat before the repair with zero (flowering/clovering) I am not sure of the proper term of the melted plastic effect from too much heat, and no for the rest of the procedure.

I cleaned the pit lightly with probe.
brushed away debri.
injected resin 5 minutes - Covered with my UV shield.(1 cm thick yoga mat)
vacuumed a little more than a minute as I was getting a coffee from the wife.
pressurised for further 5 minutes.
removed bridge, pit filled, tabbed.
Cured for 8 minutes using delta kit 12v UV lamp while drinking coffee inside.
Scraped
polished with delta pit polish using a cork.
cleaned windscreen.

screenman wrote:HBCC, no heat required on that one at all, unless of course it held some moisture in it, but it has been over pressured. On a repair like that you would want to see no more than just the pit when finished.

What method did your friend train you to dry out?

Lighter method, I was also taught to dry every repair first, and to supply just enough heat that the screen where the lighter is being waved around turns from misty to clear. Let the windscreen return to its normal temperature before beginning the repair.

My post above describes my method. Please correct me if I am doing something wrong as my mentor although as good at his job as he is would rather replace an entire windscreen than do a repair and does use heat during the repair process. (Which thanks to this forum and you helpful folk have already changed the way I do repairs).

I thought I may have used too much pressure to cause those trails. Now if you could tell me if it was pressure from my bridge or injection pressure (Which I am thinking is the case but would like to know for sure)

Thanks
Paul.

I can tell you that in the real world most people DO NOT dry out every repair ! You can use a little common sense with this ! I do dry out ! I have three drystars but I aint doing if it don't need it !!!

bill lambeth wrote:I can tell you that in the real world most people DO NOT dry out every repair ! You can use a little common sense with this ! I do dry out ! I have three drystars but I aint doing if it don't need it !!!

Thanks for your comment Bill.
Now about that common sense part.

I live in the sub tropics with humidity ranges from 70% - 90%+ would it be common sense for me to dry every repair to make sure the is no moisture in the chip ? (I was taught moisture in the chip was bad and where I live due to the high humidity to dry every chip before repair first)

Does humidity play a part in chip repair ?

Most importantly, is there any way to measure moisture content of a chip or is it just look at it and make sure it is not wet ?

Thanks
Paul.

HBCC wrote:

bill lambeth wrote:I can tell you that in the real world most people DO NOT dry out every repair ! You can use a little common sense with this ! I do dry out ! I have three drystars but I aint doing if it don't need it !!!

I live in the sub tropics with humidity ranges from 70% - 90%+

Where are you located?