During my second repair of the day, a small combo with 1 subsurface crack extending 1/8 of an inch, I had serious difficulties removing these small specks of air. I am using the GM daytona bridge with proline 2 resin. The glass was apprx 75 degrees. No dry out procedure was used as the presence of water was not detected. After an initial attempt to fill the break, I wasn't getting much air being vacuumed, I drilled and used the spring hammer to pop the impact point. I was able to extract almost all of the air but these pesky bits were impossible to remove. Any ideas? Thanks in advance
Perhaps there was just a bit of moisture in the form of mild condensation present even though it was visually undetectable. On the other hand, maybe it was air or other contamination, but if you have had reasonably consistent success removing air with your equipment, it probably isn't air. I've often although not always had success in removing contamination like this by applying heat, but that's tricky to do without compromising other criteria. As well, I've seen resin that's gone "bad" for whatever reason exhibit this characteristic. Athough the photo is descriptive, it's difficult to nail down the type of contamination given the variables. Big picture: the next time you encounter this situation try applying a little heat in measured application to the affected area after you've released pressure on the equipment. If it's air, you should see it evacuate quickly. If it's moisture, you can apply increasingly more heat, but be forewarned you're really rolling the dice if you do that so if you haven't practiced a lot with that technique or are in any way unsure of yourself my advice would be to disregard this last sentence and be satisfied with what you see is what you get.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. It is rather hard to see, the small "flecks" were black and shiny..."flecks" I guess is the best word to describe them. I did apply some heat with a bic lighter. I'm sure screenman would suggest that I dry out every chip, and perhaps he is right. Thes resin is about a week old (since I have received it). It was very difficult to get the small crack to go away. It never really did get it to disappear completely but reduced it to just a spec. It was very cold outside today, maybe 37 degrees. Overall it was a very tiny combo and the customer was very satisfied, but I still wasn't happy with the results. I gave him a 20 dollar discount, mostly because he was a firefighter ( of the captain variety ) and partialy because of the finished product. I've spent 17 years in the autoglass repair and replacement industry and have over 35,000 installs under my belt and perhaps 8,000 plus repairs but have never strived for perfection when it comes to repairs until the last year or so. I am however really excited to learn and grow to become the repair tech that this industry deserves. Thanks
From what you've disclosed about the outside ambient temperature, the short crack not completely disappearing, and the visual qualities of the contamination, I would venture that the contamination is indeed moisture. Because it's more dense, cold air holds more moisture than warm air. You'd do right to take Screenman's advice - particularily at this time of the year in these latitudes.
Do NOT overly tighten your injector onto the glass surface.
If you experience problems using the system/products or should have any technical questions, I advice you to seek contact with the manufacturer (GM), it shouldn't be a problem to have your questions answered first hand.
BTW: Don't feel silly, it is only silly to NOT ask questions.
I agree with Frank's fist line, now the thing that makes this look correct is that it is a combination that did not fill easily. Look at my recent description of a bullseye, now a combination is the same thing except the cone has been broken often into lots of pieces. Reading my description you will see what effect putting excess pressure on the injector will cause.