Fixing other techs\' mistakes

[chip-gone]

I repaired a windshield today that had been previously repaired (different break). The pit resin was discolored and lifted around the edges. Although the break itself (a nasty star) looked to be properly filled, the pit work just made the whole thing look trashy.

When I was done with my repair, the customer asked me if I could "fix" the previous repair. As I have had no good experiences fixing other techs' work, I stated that I would prefer to wait & see if the pit resin pops out completely before attempting it. I really didn't want to try to dig/pry out the old resin. The repair was about 1 yr old.

What have been your responses when presented with the same situation?

Thanks.

[dgarza]

Ive done many of those for people. they have all turned out great. most of the time the people ask me to repair those and I have to tell them those have already been "repaired" but I can problably make the pit look better. its easy to just run my drill bit in a couple of circles to get the old pit resin and dirt out then just do a new pit fill. just make sure to hover the drill bit inside the pit because the more you touch the glass with it the worse it will look.

[Talbert]

I have run into several situations where I tried to sell a repair, and was told by the owner of the car that the window had been repaired. I went back and closely looked at the damaged area. The pit area has a pinkish look to it, and running my finger around the area I could feel it very plainly. I was kinda of pissed that someone would pass this off as a repair.

Yesterday I walked around a small used Mercedes lot and found a car with two combo stars. I went in and found the owner, the daughter of the dealer. She said that it had been repaired at a local car wash that has a permanent repair station. It had the same look as some I had seen on other cars earlier and had been told that it had been reapaired. I told her that the repair was crappy and to call me next time. The manager then told me he wanted me to fix his car that had a combo. The repair turned out great and he was very happy. I was going to fix the other car free of charge just to help repair the reputation of WSR but she had left the dealership.

Have any of you found previous repairs that had a pinkish tint to the pit area?

[Repair1]

Hello all, it

[Coitster]

I only do a chip thats been done before if they did a really really bad job. If their is a lot of resin in the chip already but they just didn't fill it up 100% I usualy leave it alone. Its got to be pretty bad, like only 20% done for me to even think of touching it. The sad part is I see chips like that all the time.
David
Coitster

[GlassStarz]

I fill in nthe pits of others when I see em I dont say squat about how the other guy may have done a bad job just do the customer a favor and fixem. Up here it gets as cold as -40f in the winter and 100f in the summer that big a swing bringzs some interesting swells and shrinks to glass is it any wonder that some pits fall out? I try not to bad talk the competition just be more professional and do a better job

[chip-gone]

Let me just clarify:

The customer pointed out the defect & broached the subject. I do not & will not bad mouth the competition. I'd come off sounding like a real jerk, exactly the kind of person I'd rather NOT do business with.

Given the fact that the rest of the repair looked pretty good (all star legs nearly completely filled, and there were MANY legs), I'm wondering if the problem might have been bad resin.

After reading your responses, I'll probably offer to do a "touch up" for the customer in the future. At the very least, this will help the reputation of WSR as a whole. After all, the more satisfied a customer is with ANY repair, the less likely they'll choose replacement in the future.

[magicogar]

I once asked my boss why she didn't get the crack fixed on her windshield. She told me it's already fixed. Since then, I always thought how crappy windshield repair was and why people getting it fixed when they still look as if it was not. I looked at wsr repairman as a joke back then. After I bought a delta kit and fixed my own windshield, i know now that crappy repairs are made only by wsr repairmen with not enough training.

My point is that a bad repair can make all of us look bad. A lot of my friends are still skeptical on wsr and they're afraid of me trying to fix their windshields. That's why the main reason I didn't want to start is because I want to make sure I have all the necessary training before I head out there. Thanks to this forum and all the people here, I'm slowly beginning to feel comfortable at wsr. Hopefully someday I'll become an expert like some of you guys here.

[Coitster]

Hey Chips-gone, I wanted to comment on a statement you made. You said that you never bad mouth the competition. I do it all the time and every day. But I do it in a nice way, I usualy say its not the technitions fault. Its usualy their trainners fault because most people arn't given the opportunity to recieve the proper training.
David
Coitster

[gold star wsr]

When I was first introduced to windshield repair, my "trainer" never mentioned pit filler. The way he showed me how to finish a repair was to remove the injector and quickly put the curing tape in place, corraling the resin that came out of the injector. Then, when it was cured, scrape and you're done. I didnt know any better, so that is how I repaired MY OWN windshield... YIKES!!! The repairs were good and they held up, but it only took about 2 weeks in the hot sun to "sunburn" the resin in the pit to a pinkish-brown. It also became brittle around the edges and started to flake out of the pit. I am suspecting that this is what you saw in the repairs you re-worked ... work that was finished, not with the proper pit filler, but instead, just slapping curing tape over the repair resin. This is a way to cut corners in car lots and fleet work... especially car lots... chances are the vehicle is going to be moved off the lot before the deterioration takes place. Fortunately, I started visiting the forums and websites for windshield repair supplies and learned the proper method for finishing repairs.