[Brent Deines]

I don't understand the part about the sponge in the PVB. I've done a lot of testing on the PVB and have not found it to soak up liquids. In fact, I have soaked it in all kinds of fluids to see what harms it and what doesn't, and in my testing water seems to have no effect. I must admit however, that we do not have any sophisticated equipment to measure minute traces of moisture, but were only going by sight, touch, and measurements to see if any swelling or weight changes occur when the PVB is subject to the various liquids tested.

I've also yet to find any science that says vibration has anything to do with evaporation, so I too am interested in hearing more about this method and the reasons why you believe it works better than heat alone. The topic of dry out methods always intrigues me as many of us just cant seem to agree on the best method, and apparently get very different results when we test the various methods others promote.

I'm still quite happy with the moisture evaporator's 20 second process that in our testing removes all the moisture in all but the largest of breaks. In the very large open breaks we sometimes have to let the glass cool for a couple of minutes and then apply the moisture evaporator for another 20 seconds. It just doesn't get simpler or faster than that, and in our testing we have not found that applying vacuum, to measurably speed up the process. Even if it did, the time it takes to set up a vacuum device or apply an additional technique would be longer than the few seconds saved. However, there is evidence that applying vacuum does reduce the boiling point of water, so at least that is scientifically sound, even if not practical in this application.

I must admit that I have never tried vibrating to remove moisture, so hearing why that works may be very enlightening. I should also say that as long as a technician is getting all the moisture out of a break without damaging the glass or laminate, I have no beef with any method used. I know we will never agree on the best method for windshield repair moisture removal, but at least I hope we can all agree that moisture removal is extremely important.