Suction cup marks?

[Brent Deines]

Good mroning screenman! I raerly use the lighter after reading one of your post a while back, and how the PVB pushes outward when heated. I was shown that method when training about 3 years ago to help resin flow in legs that seem not to be filling. I never held the open flame in one spot long enough to build extreme heat. I look back at how I repaired cracks and breaks when I first started and compare it to what I do these days. Some methods are the same while I've gained knowledge and experience with better results. I still learn with every break. The simple breaks are sometimes the most difficult due to age, time of day (temp), weather, etc... Your words of wisdom are not lost when you post. We may not always agree with you but we do read and understand what you are talking about from a different view point. Have a good week. I have 2 repairs scheduled this morning.

Candyman, I apologize if you and other Delta Kits trained technicians got the wrong impression coming out of a Delta Kits training class. Delta Kits recommends warming the glass from the outside , or better yet, both sides at the same time whenever possible, and I have written several articles over the years regarding the benefits of using a hair dryer to warm the glass from outside the vehicle. To limit the noise and cord entanglements of using a dozen hair dryers, we do use a cigarette lighter to warm the back of the glass in training classes, but we try to make it clear that is not our recommendation. That said, "slightly" warming the glass from the inside with a cigarette lighter will lower the viscosity of the resin and help it to flow so as long as you do not apply too much heat it is not "wrong" to do so. However, overheating the glass will cause the glass to expand as screenman pointed out and as I have explained numerous times here on the forum and in many other venues. We'll try to do a better job of communicating best practices for warming a windshield in future Delta Kits training classes.

If you are not already signed up for The Wisecrack I encourage you to do so. We supply a tech tip for Delta Kits users each month and have visited the temperature control issue more than once since you attended training, most recently in September of 2011. http://www.deltakits.com/wisecrack/58/297/

This thread has gotten completely off topic, so my last comments will be about suction cup marks. If I have access to the interior of the vehicle I always clean the inside and the outside of the glass as a courtesy to the customer and suction cup marks have always come off easily. If I have time I will clean the driver's side and passenger side front windows and vacuum the interior of the vehicle as well. I would never go to a job without a high quality glass cleaner and always try to go the extra mile to set myself apart from the competition. It's rare that a customer fails to comment on the extra attention that has brought me a lot of repeat business over the years. I rarely used a mirror when I was younger but find the new mirrors with magnification help me see what is going on under the seal that simply cannot be seen from outside the vehicle without a mirror. It seems odd to me that this is controversial. Your not an inexperienced fool just because you choose to use a mirror and you are not a worthless hack just because you don't find they offer you any benefit. It's just personal preference.

[Ricersux]

A. For me it is standard procedure to clean the entire windshield after one of my repairs.

B. If possible I always use a mirror...usually I remove it and replace it several times thruout the repair process.

C. Seldom do I feel the need to use a lighter but I have had too and it's a good technique to know if it's needed. I use it in vacuum mode to "close" a leg, then return to pressure mode and as the glass cools it "pulls" the resin into the leg. Hair dryer is my preferred method of warming glass but sometimes a little more is needed in experiences.

[mrchips1952]

I can't feature returning the car to the client without the view through the windshield being as clear as possible. I have had a client return to me only to have me clean his windshield inside and out, as he claims no one else can get it as clean. He threw me five bucks and a coffee for doing it. I have had a few referrals from taking the extra few minutes to do this. I use exclusively Stoner Products "Invisible Glass" and find it worth the extra cost.

[screenman]

Looking back at my remarks on this subject makes me realise I do not do the same customers as most of you. My base is fleets, trucks, buses, coaches and car lots, I seldom if ever do a retail Joe Public, car lot screens are already clean and the rest get cleaned by the companies.