Crack Repair Advice

[vinyl-4ever]

I got a question? First off I had a repair the other night and it was about 37 degrees out and dark. I inspected the damage and found a 8" crack with a quarter size star right in the middle of the crack. I informed the customer that I would have to run the defroster to heat up the windshield. This caused the crack to spread about 2". I immediately turned the defroster down. I guess it warmed up a little quick. Here is the main problem. The pit area was too big for the injector so I leveled off with pit resin, by doing so some of the fit filler actually filled up the top part of the crack sealing it off from the star and the other side of the crack. I ended up drilling three holes. 1 because the crack extended from the heat of defroster. 1 where the crack spread. and 1 in the center of the pit. I would appreciate any suggestions. The repair ended up turning out pretty good, and I was lucky that this was my last job of the night, beacuse it took a long time.

[Dave M]

You won't like my opinion! So, a ten inch crack, quarter size star in the middle, impact point larger than the injector and around 37 degrees and it was dark outside. I would have told the customer to have his w/s replaced, without even knowing where the break was located. At the very least, wait until daylight.
You ended with 3 drill holes, a very large impact point and as you put it "turning out pretty good".
Did it turn out good enough that this customer will refer you to his friends and family?
At what point do some techs just say no? Maybe your repair came out great and you'll never hear from that customer again. Myself, I would have called it a day and made the money lost by going the extra step tomorrow and doing an extra repair!

[StarQuest]

Have to agree with Dave, some repairs your better passing on to replacement.
In your situation, this would have been one of them!

[Sneck]

Years ago, I attempted to repair similar damage like this from time to time - mostly to learn where my limits are with the tools, technique, weather, light, time, quality of repair, etc etc.

Sometimes it comes down to what the customers expectations are. If its someone who has absolutely no intention of spending the money to replace the windshield, but really wants you to do what you can, then go for it (but only if you think there is a good chance that YOU and CUSTOMER will be happy with the repair).

But in the end, I must agree with Dave and Starqwest. This one probably would have been better to not repair.

[vinyl-4ever]

I normally would have referred for replacement. The customer was happy with the repair. Most of the time my expectations are higher than the customers. I educate them before the repair. Happy Holidays Everyone.