Crack repair w/ delta tools

[stihlcarven]

I watched the vid that came with my kit and was introduced to an ufamiliar way to fix long cracks by applying resin directly to the top of the crack 1 drop at a time...after the initial injection reaches it's peak....that seems sooooo much easier than the way I am accustomed to aproaching crack repair. I did however notice that alot of resin seemed to be wasted running down the window.I immediatly thought of a tool in my head that could be held onto the window by hand, maybe an "L" shaped thing with "sqweegy" attributes that would hold the resin at the point of the crack. You could then move the tool down as you apply a drop at a time to advance the resin. Another idea that came to me is a narrow, but thick tape that could be run down along the crack to act as a dam. This might prevent the resin from being wasted down the windshield as well...is this a concern for anyone else?if so has any one found a way that works for them?My theory behind the tool is that you could build up resin trapped in the small "L" shaped sqweegy tip and move it down the window as the resin moves into the crack....I haven't repaired a crack yet with my kit...so this might be a dumb topic...only revealed to me as dumb after I do a crack repair.I wish I could describe the tool better....it would be on a 8" or so handle with a tiny sqweegy on the end...only instead of straight it would be "L" shaped to catch the resin and move it down the crack as you slide the sqweegy down. As soon as I figure out how to tap my brain into my usb port Ill post a pic.

[screenman]

There is only a very small amount of resin used in doing a long crack repair as long as you are careful, and move along at the speed the crack wants to fill. I get very little waste and even have to wet the surface of the crack to make my curing tape lay down nicely sometimes.

[stihlcarven]

OK...Just as I thought, it was a stupid question...I just filled a 2 1/2 foot crack in my own car...I was able to apply just enough pressure to the dropper to allow it to just bulge out instead of dropping a drop..then I just followed the crack with it and it was just like riding a bike.I did not use curing tape however, a step I forgot...I think there is a shiny spot or two where a lil air may have seaped back in...but all in all for my first repair with the new DELTA kit I have to say not to shabby...especially a crack that long....and the dropper technique makes me ask myself what the heck was I doing sliding tools on windshields to begin with?No grease....no hassle....no sweat!!!! Sorry folks for the dumb question...I wish I could take it back.

[Brent Deines]

Make sure you stay behind the air as you apply the resin so the resin is always pushing the air toward the end of the crack. If you try to fill to fast you may end up with pockets of air along the crack.

I stop every few inches and apply curing film to the filled portion of the crack so no air can get in from the surface. Like screenman, I sometimes apply a little extra resin to the surface before applying the film. Try not to put any pressure against either the inside or outside of the glass unless absolutely necessary. Flexing may help fill larger areas but will often pull in surface air that will appear as tiny bubbles or shiny spots as you mentioned. Also be very careful when applying your light as too much pressure along the crack will flex the glass and allow air to enter the filled crack.

Changing methods always takes a little practice but it sounds like you will have this method perfected in no time.

I never tried your squeegee method but I have put a thick tape along the crack to keep the resin from running down the glass. With a straight crack it seemed to work ok but it didn't seem like it was worth the trouble for a few cents worth of resin. As you have already figured out it really doesn't take all the much resin to fill the crack if you are careful about how you apply it. Of course that doesn't help me sell resin now does it?

[stihlcarven]

Thank you for the pointers fellas, I am going to need all the pointers and tips I can get. Regardless of how reletively inexpensive it is to start this biz, it took every last dime I have to get this thing going....I would love to attend a class, I just cant even afford to get there...by the time I will be able to I imagine I will be proficient enough not to need it...I hope...thanks again, I am excited to get rolling full steam.

[GLASSTIME]

I just thought I would throw this in here. Please note I havent tried this method and am unsure if Brent condones such, However I seen a tech using the Delta Kits I-100 injector he placed it on the WS/Crack filled it with Magnibond and began to glide the injector along the crack to fill it?

Brent is this possible? Maybe I will test this to see what happens!
My concern would be that it would wear down my seals much faster than normal as it would be creating friction almost like using my seal in the manner of an eraser. Again I am unsure of the amount of pressure this certain tech was using while gliding the injector along the crack.

????

[Roo]

Chad, are you talking about removing the injector from the bridge and just holding it in your hand? I tried that once just for fun on a really long crack. It turned out pretty good. However, I wouldn't recommend this as there is always the risk of applying too much pressure with the injector which could flex the windshield and introduce air back into the crack. At that point it is nearly impossible to have a great looking repair. I am almost positive Brent and Delta kits does not approve this method either. Delta has been doing this for over 25 years now so I would follow their recommendations on customers cars.

The only reason I tried it was because it was on a friends vehicle and the crack was over 2 years old and I knew the results were not going to be that good anyway.

Here's a tip: I like to carry a magic marker with me and as I put resin on the break I will get back in the car and mark how far the resin went. This allows me to see where I need to put my next squirt of resin on the outside. Sometimes it is hard to see where the resin stopped from the outside. If you ever put the resin to far ahead of where the resin previously stopped you will trap air for sure. This is kind of tedious but I want my repairs to look as good as possible so I don't mind the extra time.

[screenman]

If you are having trouble see where your resin has flowed to move your head about a lot more, we call it cross referencing, each damage/leg will look slightly different from certain angles, depending on the light available.

[Brent Deines]

Sliding is not the method we prefer or teach because it requires pressure on the crack as the resin is being injected but as the injector is moved forward the pressure is released, which in our experience pulls air into the break. I believe that using the Delta Kits method with a Delta Kits system will produce the best possible results. However, many technicians use the sliding method, even a few Delta Kits customers.

What matters is that you get the crack completely filled with resin in the shortest possible time. If sliding does that for you who am I to say you should not do it? Where I voice my opinion is when a technician complains that the method he or she is using is not producing satisfactory results, or if he is a Delta Kits customer who is calling for technical support. We cannot help a technician do better repairs if they refuse to use the methods we teach, and we often find that the people who have the most problems are getting so much conflicting information that they have gotten way off track. There is nothing worse than having a technician post on the forum or call in for tech support saying that the products we sold them don't work, only to find out that they are not using those products correctly because of erroneous information they have received from a 3rd party.

The vast majority of our technical support calls come from customers who refuse to come to training and have developed some bad habits over the years. We all get set in our ways and like to think we know best, which is one of the reasons training classes are so valuable, not only to the technician, but to suppliers like Delta Kits as well. We get to see what people struggle with most which helps us develop new tools and techniques. I've learned a lot from some of the technicians who have attended our training classes over the years, and almost without exception the technicians who attend our classes tell us they have learned a lot as well. Although there is no substitute for field experience, technians rarely get to spend time evaluating the tools, methods, and skills, used by their competitors, so they really don't have good way to measure their skill set. In a training class with 10 or 20 other technicians it's easy to identify who is doing the best repairs. Oddly enough, it's often the newbies who do the best repairs, at least at the beginning of a class.