Extreme Weather Techniques

[Ricersux]

Newbie questions:

I am in the midwest and currently do repairs only in shop and replacements both in shop and mobile. I am looking to go out on my own doing just repairs mobile. I am concerned about the extreme weather changes we have in the midwest. Super cold/wet winters and hot sunny summers. I ideally will have cover in most situations but not always.

What do you guys do to cope with these temperatures while working mobile?

How do you cool the glass when it is 80 degrees outside and the car is sitting in the sun?

How do you warm up the glass to prepare for the repair in the middle of winter if outside?

Midwest repair techs please chime and share your knowledge.

Thanks

[Kgobin]

This previous post that should help you, and I encourage you to read through some of the previous post because they can be very helpful. Also, may I ask what equipment are you using, and always if you have any other questions or concerns please post them, PM me, or call into Delta Kits.

I agree with with using the car's heater when possible, but I also use the defroster while warming the outside of the glass with a hair dryer. It requires a great deal of heat from the inside to warm the glass, so warming from the outside, or both the inside and outside is preferable. On a cold day you can heat the inside to the point that it is too hot to touch, but the outside will barely even be warm, and will cool immediately after the heat is removed. Maybe I've just been lucky, but in 20 years I have not cracked a windshield using by using the defrosters, although as I said, I almost always heat from the outside as well. 12V hair dryers are available at Camping World and other RV stores, but the quality is poor so I prefer a 115V model whenever possible. However I still recommend keeping a 12V model on hand for when you don't have access to AC, unless of course you have a generator or converter, which I also recommend in cold weather areas. It's kind of nice to have a portable heater to help keep you comfortable and there are many great ones to choose from these days.

If you use a hair dryer it is not too difficult to figure out a way to attach it to the glass so you have constant heat throughout the repair process. I have used a pump style or flip lever vacuum cup with a strip of Velcro attached to hold the dryer in place and pointed where you wanted.

As GlassStarz said, you don't want to warm it too quickly, but keeping the heat consistent once you have obtained the proper temperature really helps make your winter time windshield repairs go much better. Small hair dryers will even fit under the bubble dome which keeps an 18" area of the windshield warm, not just the spot you are working on, and also helps keep your injector and hands warm during the repair process.

In Montana we did not always have the luxury to stay home on days it was snowing, and in Oregon staying home when it rains is definitely not an option if you want to make any money in the windshield repair business.

[Ricersux]

Right now I am using an old Glass Medic vacuum system with some RAS 123 parts and a lil this and that

I am intending on purchasing a Delta-Kit and taking part in the offered training in Oregon! Hopefully in the next few weeks actually.

I have read and read about the ups and downs on the forum but never found a specific thread for us Midwestern techs trying to make it year round.

Thanks

[Kgobin]

I know there isn’t a specific thread for Midwestern techs trying to make it year round, but when you type in the keyword in the search box in the top right hand corner you can typically find the answer to your question. Below is a tutorial video explaining how to do it. Also, I look forward to meeting you and servicing your windshield repair needs when you make it out here to Eugene, Oregon but if we can be of any other assistance before then please email, PM me, or call into Delta Kits.

[Ricersux]

Thanks for the video...lmao - I own several phpBB's my self and am a degree holding Network Administrator, I understand the search feature . I was just lookin for some more recent posts and topics on the subject - didn't really see much so I decided to start a new thread after reading thru many of the search results. Sorry if I inconvenienced anyone with my trivial concerns...

[Kgobin]

You did not inconvenience anyone and I apologize if you felt as if I insulted your intelligence but I did not know that you own several phpBB's or that you have a degree in Network Administration.

[Ricersux]

Of course not... - No harm no foul.

Could we please continue with this thread? Getting back on topic...have any of you tech's experimented with using an electric heating pad to warm up a cold windshield in the winter?

[t4k]

You can get as technical as you want with this heating issue by adding heating pads, warming pads, hair dryers or what ever you can find to buy. The simple way to do this, IMHO, is run the heater/defroster in the car to slowly heat the whole W/S then use your Dry Star to dry and heat the chip as needed. Simple as that....

[Brent Deines]

I can't say I have worked in the Midwest, but I did start repairing windshields in Montana where we got quite a bit of snow and cold weather in the winter. We also had plenty of 100+ degree days in the summer in Eastern Montana, and in Oregon we constantly deal with a lot of rain.

I've tried heating pads. They do work for pre-warming a specific area but I find them to be cumbersome and it's difficult to keep heat on the area being repaired during the repair process. I still like the good old fashioned hair dryer. They work quickly, the heat can be directed where you want it, the temperature can be controlled, they can be attached anywhere on the windshield with a suction cup and some Velcro, the injector, resin, and glass can all be kept consistently at the same temperature, they help minimize condensation and control humidity, etc. When used with a bubble dome they also keep your hands warm when working on a repair. Some in the professional windshield repair community turn their nose up at the use of hair dryers stating they are not industry specific and therefore do not present a professional image, but hey, until something better comes along I think it's one of the best $15 tools a windshield repair technician can invest in for working in cold climates.

I also run the defrosters on the inside of the glass during the repair process if possible. Some say that the warm air on the cold glass will make a chip crack out, and indeed that is possible, but in my experience not very likely. If you are concerned about that you can use the car heater instead of the defroster, but I prefer the defroster. If the inside of the glass is warmed with the defrosters as you are warming the outside with a hairdryer the temperature stays reasonably constant in the repair area. Where some technicians run into problems is when too small of an area is spot heated too quickly.

Once the glass is warmed to the proper temperature, and only after it has been warmed to the proper temperature, I will use a moisture evaporator to remove any trapped moisture.

In hot weather I typically just shade the glass with a hood protector and if possible open the car windows. Running the air conditioner inside the car is also helpful if that is possible. Those are about the only things I typically do to cool the glass when the sun has heated it to over 100 degrees. How cool you get the windshield may be somewhat system specific, but with a Delta Kits system very little pressure is required to fill the break so it's not a problem to repair a windshield that is 100 degrees. Check with your tooling manufacturer for specific guidelines using other products. I don't spray cold water or alcohol on the glass as I have seen that make a break crack out, but that is a fairly common practice in the industry and may be necessary if you are using a high pressure system. Using a water soaked towel is a pretty effective way of cooling down the glass in places where the temperature regularly reaches 100+ degrees, but I recommend using only warm water, not cold. Too fast of a temperature change can cause the damage to spread, but oddly enough the same technicians who fear using the defrosters to warm the glass sometimes use cold water or alcohol to cool the glass. Using a block of aluminum block to draw out excess heat is a great and very safe way to cool the chip area, but not effective in cooling the entire windshield.

I will have to say though, when it got down below 30 degrees or when it is snowing or raining hard I always tried to get the vehicle inside, or at least under cover if at all possible. When I was doing mobile repairs we didn't have bubble domes so we used towels and makeshift plastic sheets to keep the water off the glass until the repair was complete. That was not an easy task when the wind was blowing, but somehow we managed when we had to. Setting up a portable shelter in that kind of weather is no picnic either. These days bubble domes and UV shields make life much easier.

The weather in the Midwest can be harsh at times, but we have customers who repair glass in Alaska in the winter and in Arizona in the summer, so compared to those extremes you have it made!

[Brent Deines]

You can get as technical as you want with this heating issue by adding heating pads, warming pads, hair dryers or what ever you can find to buy. The simple way to do this, IMHO, is run the heater/defroster in the car to slowly heat the whole W/S then use your Dry Star to dry and heat the chip as needed. Simple as that....

I agree for the most part, keep it simple when you can, but in extreme cold weather you have to get the inside of the glass very hot before the outside of the glass will even begin to warm up, and in my experience repairs come out better when both sides of the glass are at approximately the same temperature.