making repair in the heat

[bullseye209]

hy folks. was just wondering what what the general consensus would be on making a repair in the heat of the summer if you have a road call and no tarp or canvas. how much would the heat affect the repair. and how would you go about the repair with the winshield being so hot.

[Patriot]

Make sure you feel the glass and if it is too hot to touch then it is too hot to do the repair. The normal temp range is 45-80 degrees F to do a normal repair. If it is too hot you will want to open the doors or at least roll down the windows for air to circulate. Also if possible move the vehicle into the shade. You could also make a mixture 50% water and 50% alcohol and put it into a spray bottle and then cover the break to keep moisture out of it, I use a spare suction cup. Then go ahead and spray the entire outside of the windshield and then take a paper towl and saturate it with the solution and then wipe the entire inside of the windshield and let the solution evaporate. Some techs run the air conditioner I choose to stay away from the AC. Also make sure not to use as much pressure because you could cause the resin to go in between the glass and plastic that is called a daisy. This is the way I do it some others may have better ideas but this gets the job done for me.

[Kgobin]

bullseye209,
I encourage you to use the search function on the forum because this question has been answered several times, but below is a previous post from Brent.

In hot weather I typically just shade the glass with a hood protector and if possible open the car windows. Running the air conditioner inside the car is also helpful if that is possible. Those are about the only things I typically do to cool the glass when the sun has heated it to over 100 degrees. How cool you get the windshield may be somewhat system specific, but with a Delta Kits system very little pressure is required to fill the break so it's not a problem to repair a windshield that is 100 degrees. Check with your tooling manufacturer for specific guidelines using other products. I don't spray cold water or alcohol on the glass as I have seen that make a break crack out, but that is a fairly common practice in the industry and may be necessary if you are using a high-pressure system. Using a water soaked towel is a pretty effective way of cooling down the glass in places where the temperature regularly reaches 100+ degrees, but I recommend using only warm water, not cold. Too fast of a temperature change can cause the damage to spread, but oddly enough the same technicians who fear using the defrosters to warm the glass sometimes use cold water or alcohol to cool the glass. Using a block of aluminum block to draw out excess heat is a great and very safe way to cool the chip area, but not effective in cooling the entire windshield.

[bullseyeben]

i used to be afraid of the heat when repairing windshields so about 7 years ago I took some advice from an installer and tried to cool one on a hot day. I cracked from top to bottom. Luckily it was my sisters car, and i was able to get her a windshield for free at the time. But since then I have never tried to cool glass and have never had a problem. That being said I have not done a lot of repairs. This week is the first time I have really put an effort in to trying to make a business out of it.

I am curious about the UV bubbles. I use a Delta kit and noticed the bubble. It is always sunny here in Southern Utah (350 days/year) and it will reach 115 degrees pretty regular in the summer. Is the UV light going to cause me a problem of curing too quickly? I have not had to use my UV lamp at all here, but it has been relatively cool (90's) since I got started. How big is the bubble? Is there room to work in it, or do you inject the resin and then put the bubble over it?

[Kgobin]

The bubble dome is a clear dome made from a special acrylic that blocks UV rays so you can work in the sun without having your resin cure prematurely in the break. It also makes a good rain/snow shield as it has a seal around the bottom edge and suction cups to hold it to the glass. The bubble dome is very popular because you can see through it and have enough room to work under it without moving or removing it. The dimensions of the bubble are 16" ID X 10" Tall with a 10" opening.



You said that

I have not had to use my UV lamp at all here, but it has been relatively cool (90's) since I got started.

Your Delta Kits curing lamp will cure the pit resin in less than a minute, as will direct sunlight, but we still recommend a 5-minute cure to make sure that the resin is cured throughout the break.