Drilling Into The Laminate

[Repair1]

This issue was mentioned in another thread I have thought about it and thought about it. It

[glassdoctor]

I agree that you should NEVER intentionally drill until you hit the PVB, but not for the safety issue. I'm skeptical that such miniscule damage to the windshield could create a hazard.

But I do think the cosmetic flaw from the drill hitting the laminate is reason enough to never ever do it. It's leaves an ugly mark any way you look at it...

[mafsu]

Brian I think your experiment would show different results if you first melted (or glued) the saran wrap to the fish bowl. Wouldn't this bear a closer resemblance to the windshield and laminate?

[Repair1]

I wonder if there is a Ball Drop Test out there? I would think there is somewhere I have looked on the net till my eyes hurt. Found one where a cracked piece of glass was weaker no test with a puncture in the lam.

Some may think its no biggie; I personally have seen some nasty stuff involving Windshields, Faces, Body

[Layne]

In my humble opinion, drilling into the laminate can reasonably be expected to weaken only that portion of the laminate that the drill bit penetrated. If it weakened the entire windshield structure then it might be expected to fail under the enormous pressure exerted by the surrounding atmosphere at normal highway speeds.

Perhaps someone with engineering expertise... regarding the physical properties of damaged safety treated glass... may be able to further expound upon this subject and provide us some test results regarding failure mode and effects analysis. Anyone??

[GlassStarz]

Frig it drill to the interior fill from the inside where its warm! LOL

[sunshine wr]

Is it still cold up there?

[repare-brise]

Very good point Glasstarz, when the windchill hits it's best to stay out of the wind.

Seriously, IMO, I see no need to ever drill to the laminate, by drilling part way and poping a mini bulls eye, you remove the need for this action. If used to stop a crack the bulls eye provides more surface area, therefore a better repair. If the drilling is used to help fill a star(use a better resin and you may never drill again) drilling just needs to be as deep as the upper surface of the break, and if you need to get to the laminate, once again the mini bulls eye would be preferable. As for the strength of the glass being compimised, in my testing(ball drop) I observed no difference between pierced laminate and in-tact laminate(a whitened pvb layer does pose a threat though). Drilling to the laminate is just an eye-sore and a possibilty of further dammage(a bit can get "caught" by the pvb and break inside the glass).

Merci

[GlassStarz]

I was a big drill fanatic but after many months of reading jeffs dont drill unless its absolutely needed i have changed my tune I have had the same bit in the drill for several months and just dont use it much anymore. Result better looking product if you use the injector as it was designed give it some time to do its job things will be much closer to invisible when your done.

[TTGLASSMAN]

I was a big drill fanatic but after many months of reading jeffs dont drill unless its absolutely needed i have changed my tune I have had the same bit in the drill for several months and just dont use it much anymore. Result better looking product if you use the injector as it was designed give it some time to do its job things will be much closer to invisible when your done.

I agree on not drilling. I find most repairs, even the tightest of all small cracks or stars look much better without drilling. A good resin, a little time on the vacum process and almost always a better repair without drilling. I find the resin stays in better as well once you remove the presure to cure.