Winter Weather

[rottdawg]

Hello All,
This is a first post for me here. You will be seeing a lot more from me in the near future!

I live in Michigan and we are starting our winter freeze. How does the cold weather effect your business? Does it force you to inclosed fleet business only? How do the rest of you cope?
Thanks
Kevin

[OmNi]

Yeah... I'm in the same boat here in GR. Where abouts do you live in MI?

[Coitster]

I remember those harsh winters. I remember having to scrap ice off of cars to get to chips.... You can have it. LOL
David
Coitster

[daris]

Hello rottdawg I'm from windsor across the border from you, and I'm looking to start working from my own garage... don't want the cold weather to interfere with my quality repairs. I use the glasweld system. Maybe one day we can get together and discuss the aspects of windshield repair over a coffee or drink. I'm very easy going, and love repairing and talking windshields.

[CrackFixKY]

I am wondering the same thing. So does most everyone use their garage?

[mrchip]

every ounce in awhile you get lucky and you can do the repair in a shop..you just have to suck it up and do it outside..keep you car running and warm..keep their car running and just work back and forth and you will get thru it

[tooldini]

I am in Lasalle MI. and have only done a few in the cold the worst part is trying to get and keep the shield warm and then keeping yourself warm LOL. Of course the glass is a little touchy in the cold. not looking forward to it but hopefully business continues to pick up and I will still get some work in the winter.

Jeff

[Sikandar]

Come on guys!!!

Its not that bad. I've sprayed bumpers and repaired alloy wheels in -5.

(don't ask me what happened to my fingers though).

Windscreens are much easier to repair in comparison and takes 40 minutes max, where as bumpers take around 3 hours for an average repair. And there are people doing this regularly over here. I use my heat gun to keep my hands warm!

What you've got to remeber is when you go to a job, your hands will be nice and warm sitting in the car, you've got a good 25min to get the repair done before your hands cool down too much. So get stuck in!!!

As for rain, each customer will be different, if they have shelter then GREAT!, if not then improvise! If its drizzling, I'd still carry out the repair by using my uv shield to protect it from water.

Regards

Sikandar

[GlassStarz]

Winter weather is like life in general you can come up with excuses to justify failure or list the obsticles you had to overcome to succeed

1. repairs can be done in sub zero temps as long as you get the glass up to temp with the heater and cover the injector to keep the cold of it ( towels work fine)
2. when working in the cold work smart get out of the cold while letting the injector work . Wear weather appropriate clothing a pair of thin gloves with a heater pack in the palm will let you work well rather than a thick pair you have to take off to work.
3. carry shelter like a pop up in the car to keep falling moisture off the car
4. keep you equipment and supplies warm a heater pack tossed into the toolbox will help with this if needed
5. take advantage of the clear days work harder and longer making it possible to take off the truly bad ones and not worry about the $ lost

I live in an area where it gets really cold many live in the opposite I can only imagine what it must be like to try and work outside in Dallas in august the cold is easy just dress for the weather and plan ahead. Hot now thats another thing you cant dress to get away from heat in fact you take too much off and you get arrested in most places

[StarQuest]

There's many past archive post about cold weather repair on this forum. For first time winters guys I would highly suggest you read all of them. Good info!

Does anybody like working repairs outside when temps drop below "zero"? No, not many do....but if you want to make money in this business during cold weather months, what other choice do you have?

Setting up your garage to do repairs won't provide much work during winter months. Sorry to share that with you but it's the truth. Been there and tried that before!

If you want to make money in Michigan this time of year, you have to get out there and just suck it up!

First cold wave is the worst but eventually your body will acclimate itself to the change and it won't seem so bad.

Your biggest concerned at this point should be focused mainly on how to provide quality cold weather repairs!