ROLAGS; Do we need policing?

[Frank EU]

Like any other NWRA member, I received my e-newsletter today (April 2009). This issue is about one big thing; the new ROLAGS.
The question is; do we need policing and limiting the long crack repair options?
The changes are being discussed for some time now, and we had the opportunity to reply and express our concerns. I have no idea as to how many replies the board has recieved so far re this matter, there were a few quoted in the newsletter and indeed the senders made very good points.
Quote: ''The Public Comment Subcommittee will now review all comments and make a recommendation to the full SDC''.
The next step could be to:
Quote: ‘’If the public review period does not result in any more changes to the standard then the draft goes to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for final approval. If the public review period results in any more changes then those are submitted to ANSI and opened to the public for further comment’’.

Under the current terms; a 14 inch long crack is repairable.
The new term will limit the long crack repair option to only 6 inches.
Quote: ''The first revision is to limit the length of cracks addressed in the standard to “six inches from the center of the damage.” This change is a reduction of the original limit of 14 inches''.

I for one do not see one good reason to limit ourselves or to allow others to limit us in our options.
Whenever we can perform a high quality repair, we should. Period. We are a genuine Repair Only service company and repairs is all we do (we do not even refer to an installer, we do not want their money!).
Reducing the length of a long crack repair is in my opinion just another move to the benefit of the big glass installing companies and I for one do not see one good reason to support their business. To put it short; I do not want to be limited in my repair options at all. Let’s be clear here; there are many, many other things in our trade that indeed deserves to be policed.

Just to make myself clear; we do not repair long cracks on passenger cars, not even when the customer insists on it, but we do crack repairs as part of our fleet work on an almost daily basis and we have never had any complaints. (btw; If you feel it is okay to do long crack repair on passenger cars, that is just fine –but we don’t)

Dear fellow repairers, in my opinion the changes should not pass and lead to a final approval. If it would be just an advice not to repair specific cracks, that's fine and acceptable, but to make 'official rules' goes way beyond any reasonable limit. The new rules will only limit our repair options and I do not see any benefit for the repair business, in my opinion this is not an improvement at all. What do you think? And yes, I know that there is much to discuss when it comes to regulations, but for now I do want to limit this topic to only three questions;

1>Should long cracks be repaired at all?
Why (or why not)?
2> What do you guys think, would it be okay to limit our current crack repair options to only 6 inches?
Why (or why not)?
3> Would it be benefitial to have yet another piece of paper policing and regulating our trade?
Why (or why not)?

[screenman]

I am the same as you Frank, I do not do long cracks on passenger cars, I stop at 6 inch maximum. I do however and have just an hour ago done a 12 inch crack on a large bus windshield. I think there are far worse things to police than us guys who do the job properly.

I see no reason not to repair long cracks, providing they are done properly.

I do not want some who has far less experience than myself telling me what can and cannot be done.

I certainly do not want anymore useless paper work going around.

Is doing a long crack repair properly any worse than doing a small damage poorly?

[Dave M]

Frank EU and Screenman,

Why don't you repair cracks longer than 6 inches on passenger cars? Frank, do the fleet vehicles you do repair long cracks on include rental cars? I would assume not.

[Glasseye]

The key issue has to be safety, and that can only be determined by rigorous testing in controlled conditions. The size of crack repair on a commercial glass compared to a car glass is dependant on whether the screen provides a back stop for airbag deployment. Most cars are now fitted with a passenger air bag and its safe deployment relies on the windscreen doing its job. There has to be some form of guidance so repairers can make informed decisions. I realise that there may some feeling replacement companies may be able to influence the regulations but what you have to consider, is that, if there was a situation where litigation was tested, it will be what is written in black and white that will be the decider.

[Dave M]

So, does anyone elso care to answer my question I asked Frank EU and Screenman? If you are repairing cracks longer than 6 inches on commercial trucks or non passenger vehicles, why are you not doing the same on a passenger vehicle?
Glasseye mentions the airbag issue, is this the reason? If that is the case, I not sure I understand. What makes a repaired 6 inch crack stronger that a repaired 14 inch crack?

[Dave M]

Blind Squirrel,

Thanks for the reply. However, I still ask the question...is a repaired 14 inch crack as strong as a 6 inch repaired crack? If the answer is no, in relation to airbag inflation, than I can understand the change issue with ROLAGS. I would hope that the strength would be the same for both lengths.
Regarding long crack repair for fleets, I can understand what you are saying about the cosmetic appearance of the finshed repair. More likely to be acceptable with fleets than a cash paying customer.
If I remember correctly, (not going to look this up) Screenman can repair a 14 inch crack in 20 minutes and has not had call backs on them. I would have to assume than, these are quality repairs. This is not a very time consuming process for Screenman, anyway!
So, cosmetics, strength and time all play a factor in when to repair a crack.

[screenman]

I have on this forum over the years I have been here staed how I do long crack repairs, please do a search and save my fingers.

I wil say quickly that I use compressed air to dryout, I use Magnibond resin on every repair, I have 2 of the superb Delta 40-14 lights and hat I slide the injector in some cases and use capillery in others. Either way I have been doing long cracks for over 20 years now so I certainly should have the mastered. That said a horizontal one can sometimes kick your butt.

[Frank EU]

Dave M: I am sorry that you had to wait a few days, I still owe you an answer.

Frank EU and Screenman, Why don't you repair cracks longer than 6 inches on passenger cars? Frank, do the fleet vehicles you do repair long cracks on include rental cars? I would assume not.

I fully agree with the answers already given by both Blind Squirrel and Screenman. In other topics we have already stated that we just do not find it proper to perform a long crack on a passenger car -for the reasons already mentioned by Blind Squirrel. Also; we do not care for smaller vehicles or car dealers at all, of course we do not refuse any incoming repair order, but we just do not focus on smaller vehicles; our target market is fleets, fleets and fleets. It is just fine if you perform a long crack repair yourself on the vehicles we do not like to touch, after all this is a free world eh?

How about the 3 questions I asked in this topic Dave?

[Frank EU]

Blind Squirrel; you mention UB eh? The owner is an advocate of repairs, that makes the man very commendable, he stands strongly for his repair people and that is a good thing. Also; he knows what he is talking about. But I have never seen and understood the need to license a repair process. ''Trade secrets'' will always ''leak'', no matter the level of protection. When the break is clean and dry, you work with proper resins, take the time and cure the repair with a proper light for a long enough period, you'll be doing fine. Patents and independent tests say and mean not all that much to me, it's just paper right? Anyway, to claim that a (proper) repair actually is as strong (or even stronger) than the original glass is true, any weld, and that is what our repairs are, is stronger than the material it is 'connecting'.

[screenman]

I like this Frank guy he saves me a lot of typing.