Drystar

[Dave M]

Barry,

What resin did you use? I use a mini torch for drying out my breaks, using a 3" circle closing in on the break. Have not broken or enlarged a break using this method. I still have my drystar but sees limited use since cracking a few!

[splitpit]

Is it important to hide your ego when dealing with others Barry?

[screenman]

DaveM, could you please explain your reasons for heating up a 3 inch area. I can see no reason so it would be nice to try and understand your point of view. I have stated many times my reasons for only heating a small area, so it would be nice for somebody to give the reasons why their way is better.

[Dave M]

Screenman,
I'm certainly not saying my method is better! I forget who or when this method was told to me, it's been a few years.
When I used the drystar or mini torch directly on the break I was getting to much cracking out. I asked about that problem either on this forum or another and was advised to try the other method (heating a 3" circle working into the break). Remember, I work in Maine and these w/s are extremely cold and brittle, even after bringing vehicle inside.
It seemed like the shock to the glass (heat from torch or drystar) was causing the cracking out. By heating the glass 3'' around break gradually working in would cause less temperature shock to the actual break and therefore, no cracking out.

[SGT]

Hi everyone, my name is Barry Slavin Jr. I Invented the DRYSTAR in 1987 .
I started repairing windshields in 1981, retired in sept. of 2001.
I would like to donate some of my free time in answering some questions you may have about the use of this tool in drying out wet breaks.
Best Regards.

Thanks for joining and sharing your knowledge with us. I am a fan of radiant heat over forced heat and use the drystar. My method may differ from most for drying out as I do not allow the drystar to actually touch the windshield. Instead I preheat the drystar, hold it just barely off the windshield, do 3 cycles at 18-20 sec., let the windshield cool in between cycles and keep the element pinpointed over the damage. I have had very good success with this method but am curious what you think.

1. Did you hold your drystar directly on the glass?
2. Did you put the drystar on the glass and then start the heat cycle to allow it to gradually increase to avoid a thermal shock?
3. How many cycles did you use on average?
4. What was your cycle durations?
5. What is the temp that drystar reaches?

I would like to hear more about how you use this tool for other purposes especially air pockets. What is your recommended cycle/ duration for this technique.

Brent maybe you could jump in to advise on the effect extreme heat may have on the resin, at least DK resin if the drystar was used to remove air pockets as Barry describes.

Thanks again for spending time here with us.

[InventorOfDryStarPatent]

Barry,

What resin did you use? I use a mini torch for drying out my breaks, using a 3" circle closing in on the break. Have not broken or enlarged a break using this method. I still have my drystar but sees limited use since cracking a few!

Dave:
Keep in mind that a break that is so sensitive to cracking out will crack no matter what.
If a drystar will crack a break, that same break will crack with a torch, It will just crack much easier, the window of forgiveness is less with a torch.

One of the first shields I broke was at a brand new audi/porsh account.
first time there and broke a window on a $75,000 car.
I handed the owner a check for the broken glass.
The rest is history.
He would help me find breaks to fix.

I never used resin, I allways used polymer.
My chemist retired just after I did.
I sold the remaining 5 gallons of go go juice along with my repair co. in 2001.
Kept in a dark, cool, dry place, the shelf life was indefinatly.

[SGT]

Dave:
Keep in mind that a break that is so sensitive to cracking out will crack no matter what.
If a drystar will crack a break, that same break will crack with a torch, It will just crack much easier, the window of forgiveness is less with a torch.

One of the first shields I broke was at a brand new audi/porsh account.
first time there and broke a window on a $75,000 car.
I handed the owner a check for the broken glass.
The rest is history.
He would help me find breaks to fix.

I never used resin, I allways used polymer.
My chemist retired just after I did.
I sold the remaining 5 gallons of go go juice along with my repair co. in 2001.
Kept in a dark, cool, dry place, the shelf life was indefinatly.

There has been quite a bit of debate over knowing how a resin performs lately. If you had your own chemist you must be very concerned about the resin performace. What do you mean when you say you never used a resin? Could you explain the difference and why you selected it.

[InventorOfDryStarPatent]

Thanks for joining and sharing your knowledge with us. I am a fan of radiant heat over forced heat and use the drystar. My method may differ from most for drying out as I do not allow the drystar to actually touch the windshield. Instead I preheat the drystar, hold it just barely off the windshield, do 3 cycles at 18-20 sec., let the windshield cool in between cycles and keep the element pinpointed over the damage. I have had very good success with this method but am curious what you think.

1. Did you hold your drystar directly on the glass?
2. Did you put the drystar on the glass and then start the heat cycle to allow it to gradually increase to avoid a thermal shock?
3. How many cycles did you use on average?
4. What was your cycle durations?
5. What is the temp that drystar reaches?

I would like to hear more about how you use this tool for other purposes especially air pockets. What is your recommended cycle/ duration for this technique.

Brent maybe you could jump in to advise on the effect extreme heat may have on the resin, at least DK resin if the drystar was used to remove air pockets as Barry describes.

Thanks again for spending time here with us.

#1 yes and no, I touch the glass with the edge of the ring thats on the element and keep the other 99.9% of the ring off the surface, it also helps stabilize it easier.
#2 I heat the drystar first till I see the element start to turn slighty orange then put it on the glass. If one is worried they could turn it on at the same time as you put it on the glass as you describe and then just add another cycle. that would be a bit gentler and safer but will add 20 seconds to the dry time! there are small varients, sounds like you have it down.
# 3 1-2 cycles on average.
#4 20 second durations.
#5 orange, I forgot what temp. the color orange represents,

#6 1 duration of 2-3 seconds for air bubbles, element orange when applied,if that doesnt do it, I resort to pressure curing.
Hope that helps.

[splitpit]

Aren't most resins polymer?

Special chemist of your own mixes it in 5 gallon buckets?

Hmmmmmm

[StarQuest]

Screenman,

I too use the same method as David M described during the winter months to avoid shocking the glass. During spring, summer and fall months, I'll just apply heat at impact point as you suggested. Gets really cold here during the winter(minus 5-20 Celsius) Maybe Barry can tell us what he does with drystar when working on shields this cold? Remember these are vehicles that you may not have in shop access to or no way to bring interior temps up by running heat or defrost. Many times, it's a stone cold, iced over 4"-6"snow covered shield.