Windshield Repair Forum

Screenman - I for one, appreciate the sharing of your trade secrets. Nothing beats experience- I will try the heat method before I condemn it. Looking back at some of my past questionable repairs, I have always thought that I should have been more aggressive, whether it be drilling or popping a bullseye, flexing harder or using heat. I like goldstars advice of practicing reworks on old repairs. I'll be experimenting this week. I'd like to re-quote your previous post... "If you do not try you will not learn" Thanks, Bob

Who was shouting? I also, was just giving my opinion!

Davem ok mate we have cleared that one then.

When I do my replys I tell the person asking what I personaly do.

Whever they decide to copy that or not is up to them. I do feel if I withhold any of the methods I use it would not be fair on some of the less experienced members of this forum.

Any advise would be great. Just experiment with it to see if it works, then try it out in the real world. If it works, great. If not, oh well....more experiments.

Ok guys. I feel a little tension going on here. We're professionals and adults here so please act like one.

Now I'll go and continue spinning around in my chair like before.

I am not an actual technician (though I am thinking about taking this on as an occupation after discovering this site).
I need a windshield repaired that had a chip in it and was repaired before. I can see where the hole was originally drilled, cause it looks darker than the actual glass, not yellowed though.
One of my kookie friends recently took her shoes off and pressed her feet up against the inside of the windshield. Shortly after wiping her footprints clean with a non- ammonia glass cleaner, I started to notice the chip was starting to crack in a starburst pattern. It's still kinda small, (smaller than a dime) but today I took the car to a safelite shop and was told that another repair couldn't be done. I was also told that the quote I received over the phone was wrong and would be an additional $10, then, that he could try to do the repair again, but that the windshield could crack and need to be replaced.
So, I left, thinking that this guy was a crook, plus not having comprehensive insurance -- I did not want to shell out hundreds of dollars for a new windshield + installation.
Anyone out there willing to take a look? I'm in San Francisco, CA

Screenman....

Hopefully the post you are referring to was misunderstood. I have been into the repair business for over 7 years (woefully short of your experience) and enjoy reading what the more experienced techs have to share.

Speaking for myself, we would all suffer greatly if you and others abandoned this site.

Cracked,

Just curious, why would you call Safelite to get a glass quote? These guys are public enemy #1 to many of us. I'm sure you have many other independants in your area that would give you better pricing.
If you'd like to share make, model and year of your vehicle, I'd be willing to tell you how much you should have to spend on a replacement if in fact you believe it can't be repaired so you don't get screwed.

Actually I think the response from the safelite shop sounds about right if they didn't know it was an old repair. I have charged an extra $10 to do an old repair before, and the possibility of cracking the glass is just being honest.

Depending on the condition of the break, etc... I sometimes won't touch it unless they understand it might fail.. and that they will be replacing the w/s if it can't be repaired. That way a repair attempt gone bad isn't such a big deal.

BTW, I agree with screenman on the earlier posts on this thread.

Greetings Jonnyques,

Your observations in examining what appears to be an "old repair" are correct. My advice when confronted with an "old repair" is, run away from it. Don't waste your time attempting to try to improve the cosmetics of it. By and large most of the stone damage is a "one shot deal". Rarely is it possible to improve the cosmetics of a bad,and/or "had no clue as to what they were doing" repair.

Actually often it is possible to make a poor repair look much better.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I'll see if I have any pics to send Jeff... a couple years ago I took a number of repair pics and there should be one of a re-do from the "$10" guy that came around the dealers back then. It turned out pretty well. It was a star with about 5-6 legs that were not filled very well at all.