my very first repair

[suzuki]

about one week ago i performed my very first repair,with no good result.let me tel you what hapen.first i know that the crack was unreparible but the customer insist that try to repair it.it was a a very long crack that comming from the top of the windshield down.i first drill the end of the crack and then drill a hole about 6 inches the ther way.in the beginnng it see to take the resin but in the middle of the crack it stop and from there i couldn't do much.can anyone tel me what i did wrong or if that crack was imposibel to repair?another thing it was my very first intent to repair a w/s.thank in advance.

[toab]

I'm not quite sure about the hole drilling 6 inches in . whats that all about?

[toab]

I've adapted Yvans way of doing it . Drill and pop about 1/2 inch from edge of w/s right beside crack and 1/4 inch from end of crack and run crack into it .then fill crack top to bottom.Some times I use crack expanders and a little heat.So far pretty good for me. I fill the hit last.That seems to be the tricky part for me.I put a piece of tape on the hit until time to fix however I had a little tape glue contaminate the hit so I'm still learning too. Good luck.

[Sneck]

Hello Suzuki

I don't understand the 2nd drill hole 6" the other direction.... but is it possible that the downward pressure of drilling the second hole put pressure on the crack in such away that the crack closed off or was too tight to accept resin? Cracks can flex pretty easily.

I agree with Toab - sometimes crack expanders and heat are necessary, but I never ever use them unless absolutely have to.

********|*******
* | *
* | *
* x *
* *
***********************

Where the x is the end of the crack, I drill and pop a mini bull about an 1/8" past the end of the crack. After popping the min bull, I check to see if the crack terminates at the mini bull, if not, then I run the crack to the mini bull.

Then I mount my bridge at the mini-bull, and begin filling from there - chasing the resin up the crack (or wherever it originated from). Gravity is not an issue on vertical cracks because the pressure in the injector will keep the resin moving up the crack.

For crack repair, I use antique gm equipment and suction cup lube on the glass so I can slide the bridge along the crack. You cannot use this method on any equipment that uses a suction cup pump (atleast that I am aware of).

You can also apply resin directly to the crack and get it to fill by gravity/cappillary action, but in reality (for me anyway) doing this in the field standing on a step ladder and bending over the customers hood for long periods of time just kills my back and I get all cramped up. That's why I prefer the slide procedure - its just alot more physically comfortable for me.
You will also use a lot less resin using the slide procedure.

I also put a drop of resin on the outside of the rubber insert so that the rubber does not "drag" with too much resistance across the dry glass.

Long crack repair is actually pretty easy to do once you get the hang of it. In some cases, I find it easier to do than some difficult large chips with many cracks.

On long crack repair, if you see silver flecks or silver spots - that is air and you need to re-work to push or force the air out by sliding the bridge over that area again. If you see black specks or black spots, you can bet that that is dirt and you are working on a contaminated crack and it is going to look like crap when you are done. So make darn sure that you are confident that the age of the crack is fairly fresh - no more than a week or so for best results.

Keep practicing, you will develop a procedure that works consistently for you that will make you money.

Good Luck

[Sneck]

After posting my above comment, it appears that my attempt at drawing a windshiled didn't quite workout like it did when I typed it. But you get the idea.

[suzuki]

I'm not quite sure about the hole drilling 6 inches in . whats that all about?

i drill about 6 inches the other way because it has no impact point to set the bridge and inject the resin.

[toab]

I agree with sneck in that I am having good luck useing the old vs new poly-lite vac pump bridge set at about 5-9psi with hand creme on the projected path of my bridgefor easy slideing. KEEP LUBE OUT OF CRACK OR YOUR REPAIR IS TOAST.