Drystar

[jayjacque]

Mine takes 10 or more seconds to get up to full heat.

My question for Barry. I've been using the Drystar tool for only 3 months, so still a novice. What has happened about 3 different times now is that somewhere between 10 to 15 seconds of holding the drystar over the impact point one of the legs of the break starts to crack out. It will crack out about 3/4 of an inch, then I immediately lift up and stop drying out before it gets worse. In every case when I filled, that extra long leg filled ok, so it all worked out. But of course it scared me, and didn't seem to be normal.

I should also say that each time the temp was somewhere between 32 to 38 degrees fahrenheit, 2 out of the 3 times I warmed up first with the defroster, and in all 3 times I slowly circled the impact area for about 10 seconds starting about 3 or 4 inches out and moving toward the middle before I ended up stationary on the impact point for the 10 to 15 seconds. (If I understand right, that is what some of the Techs from this message board say they do) Am I doing something wrong, or does this just happen sometimes?

[splitpit]

I don't think that with the type of radiant heat that these produce it is necessary to circle the damage. I would think that you are better off to concentrate the heat on the damage alone.

[screenman]

I would never circle that far out, the larger the glass area you heat the longer it will take to cool. Keep it small keep it quick. Most legs that run when overheating will stop as soon as they hit cool glass.

[splitpit]

If your goal with radiant heat is to try out the damage, I see no point in circling the damage at all.

[InventorOfDryStarPatent]

Originally Posted by Blind Squirrel

Hello from Colorado and welcome to the forum Barry!

You sound like someone that would be interesting to chat with about all areas of windshield repair. Could you expand on what you said about using the drystar to remove air bubbles?

I live in a very dry climate where moisture is so seldom an issue that I rarely use my drystar. One other thing you mentioned made me stop and think though. I normally use my torch (on a cold w/s) to heat a "circle" 3-4 inches around the chip. I use my hand to gauge how warm the glass has gotten by feeling the glass. If it's warm but not hot where I jerk my hand away, well, that's my precise and scientific method, LOL.

What you said has me thinking about using this tool more.

When drying out water from a break in glass,I have learned thru experience that more is not better. The less heat the better.
When getting out air bubbles from a bullseye or combination that will not come out in a pressure cycle or a vacum cycle ( I have learned that if air doesnt come out after a few seconds of vac or a few minutes of pressure then its not coming out with the injector anytime soon and my time is money) I relieve the pressure and slide the bridge over and heat the drystar and put it on the break for 2-3 seconds and the air bubles come out instantly. Then slide the bridge over on it and re-pressure untill temps are equal, then cure. DO NOT OVER HEAT THE CHEMICAL.
I do not use vacum hardly ever at all, more force is developed thru the pressure cycle where the air is DISPLACED by the chemical.
I have come to realize the "fact" that it is more important for the surfactant in the chemical to match the surface tension of the glass then ANYTHING else. Including the cps viscosity of the chemical,injectors used or the planetary alignment. The thicker the chem.= less shrinkage = better lasting result. With the correct surfactant and mix, the thicker chemical will go where the thin stuff can not! I never spent more then a few minutes on 99% of all breaks! Never. After 15 seconds or so of pressure,if I see a leg not filling, I pop the break(make sure the glass is cool) and re-pressure, im done! I fix any break in minutes with lasting results.
Please keep in mind there is only so much you can do about shrinkage because of the acrylic acid that does the bonding.
But it can be minimized to the point of not being an issue.
To sum it up,Its all ABOUT THE CHEMICAL, NOT THE INJECTOR.
With the correct chemical anyone can do great repairs with an experienced trainer.

[splitpit]

Bada bing, bada boom and your done in a few minutes?

Sorry but my experience and my training tells me that it's not quite that simple!

[screenman]

Now I could not agree more with your last line. Do not tell some of the guys on here you pop and I bet you might even drill sometimes. Keep your head down buddy there might just be some flack coming. Many thanks for spending the time and effort it requires to make the job easier.

[splitpit]

Not sure who you are addressing screenman?

[jayjacque]

That's some very interesting stuff, radical to say the least, but makes sense. Barry how much of that applies to starbreaks, or is that a whole different ballgame?

[StarQuest]

To sum it up,Its all ABOUT THE CHEMICAL, NOT THE INJECTOR.

Originally Posted by splitpit

Bada bing, bada boom and your done in a few minutes?

Sorry but my experience and my training tells me that it's not quite that simple!