UV lamp vs natural UV

[magicogar]

Forgot to mention,the sun down south here is very strong. I've parked the car under a shade and the excess resin dripping down after I pull the injector cured even without a curing tab. I guess the sunlight is bouncing off somewhere.

I'm still amazed at how you people can do repairs in the 90 degree heat.

[StarQuest]

Bill D,

Questioning me on this subject won't cause any problems or confrontations;) I would never expect for anybody to believe everything that's read in these post without exercising some skepticism. Where do my facts on UV curing come from? Simply from researching multiple sources available to me as well to others using the Internet. Just run a search and you will find everything you ever wanted to know about artificial UV curing vs natural(sun UV exposure)

Tanning booths.....why do so many people use them? Could it be because in less than 10 minutes under artificial UV lighting it's equivalent to laying out in the sun for 3-4 hours? (that's 18-24 times more effective than natural sun exposure, isn't it?)

Roofing manufactures.....How is it that they're able to simulate 10 years of natural sunlight exposure to roofing materials under artificial UV lighting in a lab in 500 hours? (using calculations of 10 hours per day of natural sun UV exposure for 10 years = 36,500 hours. Now divide that by 500 hours of artificial UV exposure and you come up with 73 times the effective rate of daily natural UV.)

Auto paint manufactures like Dupont....also use artificial UV lab conditions to simulate years of natural sun exposure in a fraction of the time to help develop, test and improve products.

Photography journals? "Even under the best natural light conditions the sun is still 50% less effective than artificial UV lighting"

I could go on forever with researched data supporting my statement made that artificial UV curing is 20-40 times more effective than natural sunlight provided UV but why bore everybody to death?

The more important question concerning this topic should be...is utilizing the proper UV lamp for curing resins more effective and consistent with results than relying on the sun? What can't be disputed is that a good UV lamp is a known constant and is a very reliable source for curing;) Using natural sunlight everyday to cure isn't constant or ever consistent over a 8-10 hour period. If any of you would like to argue that point please feel free to post your opinions;)

[StarQuest]

Brian,

I truly respect your years of acquired technical and marketing knowledge but can you honestly tell us your technical WSR experience covers the entire country in repair?

I live in Michigan and will tell you flat out that I haven't found any marketed resins that will cure properly during the winter months without utilizing a UV lamp. We just dont' have the natural UV conditions available to cure resins properly during winter months. Delta, your welcome to add your response on this subject!

I don't have a problem with you stating your curing everything without the use of a UV lamp but your methods really won't work in my area this time of the year. So please be more specific when suggesting these ideas to others. Cold weather repair is a totally different animal to what your dealing with or can provide valid information too.

Every well established professional WSR tech here in Michigan that I know of, uses a curing lamp on every repair and that includes me! So, what does that tell everybody?

[Jeremiahswindshieldrepair]

While we may not have the snow fall you have I would venture to say in Oregon we have substantially more rain than most other states .. rain means cloud cover. I can, and have, cured resins IN the rain with no lamp. It takes maybe 2 minutes more than a normal 50 degree slightly overcast day would. I am certainly not questioning the fact that a light may be more consistent and concentrated... but I am only questioning the NEED. Is the main reason for using the lamp a speedy drying time? If so why does it have to be speedy? I have done repairs IN the snow .. with snow falling on me and I still don't use a light if it isn't within 30-60 minutes before dusk. My repairs turn out great and never (except the once and I told the guy it wouldn't take the resin for some reason) come back to me after I am done.
To me the reason I do repairs is to stop a windshield from cracking and make the view better than it was before I started. My equally important reason is making money .. and time is money ... I personally don't NEED to take the time to use a lamp so I don't, and I feel I make more money in my area because of the time savings. It makes no difference to me if anyone chooses to cure using a lamp actually. I just try to question every step I take everyday to find out if and why I am wasting a step ... any wasted steps that are removed mean more room for profitable steps. I use a lamp that takes 4 AA batteries and I have had the same batteries for MONTHS now and the same bulb for possibly a year, that alone cuts down on costs and I don't need to buy an additional lamp for each bridge I use. That combined with time savings seems reason enough for MY area not to need a lamp. That being said the best tech I have working with me panics and has been known to not even go to work if his light is not working ... I think it is silly personally, but he is dead set that he has to use a light.

I always tell people, especially little old ladies, to not go 4-wheelin' or over any jumps or anything until tomorrow as the inner resin takes much longer than the surface resin to dry.

[Delta Kits]

I always tell people, especially little old ladies, to not go 4-wheelin' or over any jumps or anything until tomorrow as the inner resin takes much longer than the surface resin to dry.

I think that's the main difference between what you and Starquest are talking about. We highly recommend that technicians do not allow the vehicle to leave without fully curing the resin, all the way through. Theoretically, if you're not worried about a full cure, only a surface cure, than I suppose what you're saying could be true.

If you let that vehicle leave with only the surface cured, you are taking a gamble that most technicians are not willing to take, which is for a star break or crack to run between the time you finish, and the time the break is fully cured.

[k9mkt]

Here in the Tropical Climate in Malaysia, I get really 'hot' blistering sunlight. Even in such conditions, i have found that curing under a U.V lamp is more convenient coz in most situations, I tend to work indoors as its too hot to work outdoors!

I've once compared curing under direct SUNlight to the Curing Lamp, and have found that Curing Lamps seems to be more precise with the repair curing about 2 minutes faster compared to the curing process under the Sun.

[Dave M]

In the future, if and when standards or licensing of ALL windshield repair technicians becomes mandatory, it will be interesting if curing lights will be standard equipment.....along with the clarification of other gray areas of this business.

[Dave M]

Is it safe for me to assume that all of you who do not use curing lights also do not cure under pressure?
If you do cure under pressure, would you explain how?
I can't imagine how you move that big bright ball in the sky to the other side of the injector.

[sunshine wr]

I use a UV lamp, I always tell my customers "especially" all of them, that it's done and they can wash, drive or whatever they want. When I'm done the repair is done. If they wanted to wait until tomorrow they could've had an install instead. I've worked repairs on cloudy days alot of times without a UV shield and been able to pressure for 5 minutes come back pulled a vac and watch resin move with no problem. I found this out purely by accident when my UV shield blew off on a windy day and I had left pressure on a repair and was still able to work it ok.

[sunshine wr]

Hey Dave, if you have the car facing south and you start curing about 10am you could be done around 2pm maybe?