Cracked...on the inside.

[screenman]

I have repaired many cracks on the inside on buses mainly I have seen the repairs many times over the years and they still stand up well.
I drill and pop both the end of the crack and as close as I can to the start of the break if it is behind the trim this I feel gives a stopping point for the part of the crack you cannot get to.

[repare-brise]

Screenman, don't you mean lories, I was unaware that busses existed in England.

Enjoy

[sydfloyd44]

As it has been written by the NWRA "Recommended Practice for the Repair of Windshields" and also now written into ROLAGS, repairs on the inner lite is not recommended no matter what the cause or case.
Many have done it in the past and many will continue to do it in the future. Is it 'really' being of service to your customer by doing such a repair?
It is like a customer that has extensive rust on the pinchweld and them begging us to "just put the new windshield in", then doing it even after my adhesive manufacturer, industry standards and leaders have told me not to. There are many industry leaders with decades more experience than I. When they recommend something, I personally like to listen.
Just my opinion.
http://www.netrax.net/~nwra/Recommend%20Practice.htm
http://www.netrax.net/~nwra/ROLAGS.htm

[repare-brise]

As with any recomendation it should be backed by facts( or backable), Your pinch-weld example is a perfect example of a bad tech, same as a WS break that has it's origins in rust, the only viable alternative is to replace, and only after the rust has been eliminated and the structure of the vehicule is returned to it,s original strength.

That said, it is my personal belief that a repair that is well done, doesn't interfere with the vision of the driver, and has a definable point of origin that is caused by an impact not a structural fault with the vehicule, is in most cases better than a replacement. If replacements were done with the care and time required to meet the original strenth of the factory instalation it would be a level playing field. Unfortunatly I know of only one installer that follows all of the instalation protocalls(a WS instalation takes him close to 4 hours, the car is jacked on stands as to provide a solid, level, and stable base,and the car is not moved for another 18 hours after the instalation, he works for Mercedes) in my area, others do the 1-2 hour quicky.

What are the reasons that an interior crack is different from an outside crack? To my knoledge, both layers of glass are the same thickness, and both are bonded to the PVB inter-layer. As a plus the inside layer is less suceptable to contamination, uv degradation, and chemical bombardment.

The ROLAGS standards while good, unfortunatly are designed for the lowest commun denominator. If all the techs out there were properly trained, able to differentiate a repairable break from a non repairable break(point of origin), and held to a lifetime garrenty, the rolags standards could rely more on the experiance, credibility, and intuition of the tech. Unfortunatly they must instead apply over-zealous standards in order to contain certain techs who are less scrupulous, meticulous, or experianced. Here in Quebec a mechanic must be licenced, and I am working with the gouvernament body responsable for that to impliment a licence for WS repair techs. We see techs that have about 20 mins training doing repairs at glass shops and dealers. My franchisee's and empolyee's have 10 days hands on training(we also do polishing) 24/7 phone tech support, and must uphold a lifetime-transferable warrenty. The glass shops have a warrenty on repairs, they guarenty that you will be back in little time to have your WS replaced because they use cheap resins, inferior equipment, and untrained techs, but they will apply the amount of the repair to a replacement. With the important role that WS's have in our safety in newer cars, it's logical that the people handeling them should be properly trained and backed.

I will decend from my soap-box now, but a little rant does wonders for the soul once and a while, thanks for reading

Merci

[sydfloyd44]

I don't see you as ranting but rather as giving some very valid points and they are appreciated!
Going back to your comments on the 4 hour replacement, if we did that here, we would be out of business in less than 6 months. (or I would be on the unemployment line earlier) Our typical replacement time is 1 hour. This is plenty of time for everything from Pre & Post inspections to all adhesive and industry standards. (assuming no bond failures or rust) Current SDAT is 1 hour based on our adhesive. I will say that keeping the vehicle out of service as long as possible is awesome and he should be commended. Unfortunately, it seems as though we go thru the constant fight with customers to keep their cars just to meet the SDAT. (we always win of course!) sorry, am I ranting now??
Thanks again for the viewpoint!

[Nomad]

I keep an injector that works upside down for just such things. I use a LR injector for this and screw everything down, pull the plunger back a little and fill from the front. Then put it on the glass. Don't get much of this but once in a while---. Got one where a tornado in oklahoma blew out the back glass and dinged the inside of the WS.

The glass is the same on both sides, unless there is a good reason for not doing it I will continue to do these repairs. Reasons to do or not already posted are good. Some bureaucrat or organization telling me what I can't do when I know I can just rubs me the wrong way though.

Gene