Anyone used

[StarQuest]

The maximum vacuum that can be achieved by any repair equipment I've seen on the market is between 26-28 inch pounds and those figures are always taken at sea level. If you were doing repairs at mile high stadium in Colorado I'd say 20-23 would be all you could muster. As far as pressure. I've seen some manual injectors that produce up to 100 psi or more. You'll never have a need to go that high. 99% of my repairs are accomplished with less than 45 psi. When I perform bulleyes I seldom use more than 25 psi cause you'll chance imprinting the laminate leaving a very noticeable mark.

Not sure if this info helps any but thought I'd pass it on

[gold star wsr]

I have the Glass Technology VP-5000, which, if the pressure guage is acurate, offers pressure exceeding 65 PSI. But unless I use the high pressure injector, it will blow the seal at around 50 PSI. I also have the Glass Technology 20-20 system, which manual, and amount of pressure depends on how hard you push the plunger down, but I dont know what the maximum is for that. It doesnt really matter what the max is, actually, because I never have needed to use it to the max. As for vacuum, if used properly, I dont know of any system that cannot extract the air from the damage....some just take longer than others...translation: patience is required for best results.

[JiveTalkinSmitch]

w/ your pressure systems do you notice an improvement in time required to do repair, better quality and ease of repairing contaminated damage over the standard (non mechanical) systems? Thanks for all your input!

[gold star wsr]

Jive man,
Each has different advantages/disadvantages. For speed, believe it or not, I find it much faster to use the manual system because there is much less stuff to fumble with. I have said this before, but I will say it again: If I had it to do over, knowing what I know now, I would have invested in several manual systems rather than one power system, even though there are some situations where the power system is clearly superior... (but nothing that cant be overcome with a little ingeniuity). As far as the quality of a contaminated repair goes, I'd have to say, contamination adversely affects all repairs regardless of what type of system is used. If the contamination is moisture, you must dry it out as much as possible before applying the tool and injecting the resin. If it is dirt, detergent, wax or something the client has applied with the mistaken notion it will prevent further damage (I once went to do a repair and found a glob of vasoline on the glass!), then you have to deal with that too, prior to beginning the repair.

[StarQuest]

gold star,

I couldn't agree with you more on dealing with contaminated repairs. My personal view is there's no equipment available that is better than another when dealing with these. I had one fleet service account I dealt with for two years that had a mobile wash company using a acid based wash solution. Didn't matter what resins I tried because results always ended up being the same. Looked good at first but after two months later my repairs looked horrible. Had nothing to do with my skills, equipment or resins. It was just some very contaminated soaked in damage from their chemicals that caused all the problems. Finally after two years I convinced them to use another company. Since that change everything has been great! No more problems.

[JiveTalkinSmitch]

Thank you Gold Star. I guess then, the ultimate and final question would be. WHY GO MECHANICAL AT ALL? So far I haven't heard any compelling reasons for mechnical systems from anyone other than those interested in selling the systems. I also forgot to say that he says that it allows for a thicker resin to be injected into star legs and cracks. Y'all are soooooo helpful in saving me time and money and I sincerely appreciate your time. Thanks.

[screenman]

I did not realize windshield repair was so complicated I have 16 year old novus style bridges and plastic injectors from esprit my competition are always commenting on how quick I do repairs and how good they look.
Remember having the bigest Snapon box does not always make you the best mechanic.