Windshield Repair Forum

It well worth the money spent, you won't be disappointed.

splitpit;25523 wrote:The only one I've ever seen was kinda goofy. It was like a cigarette lighter on a handle! LOL

Mini butane torch works great for me.

Goofy, perhaps.

Back in the day, folks said Colonel Sanders looked goofy in his white suit and black bowtie--- but look how much chicken he sold! (I doubt it was his 12 secret herbs & spices)

It's a great buy, all the same. Versatile, safe, and affordable.

I can just say that after using a mini torch for couple of years I finally ordered a moisture evaporator from Delta and it was the best investment I made. I still use the torch to flex the chip from the inside to get rid of the legs. To stop overheating I put a sucker on a small digital timer and only heat for exactly 20 seconds. Get it you will not be sorry

We have the dry star and rarely use it anymore, micro torch is our preferred method. I use 3 second bursts, two or three times usually gets the job ready for repair. Much faster than the dry star!

Maxryde we are the same as you on this, although the drystar certainly has its uses in very windy days. This is why we advocate both in the tool box.

Split
some use dryout then run a flame on the inside the heat drives the moisure out the chip. Downside laminate gets pretty hot it works but there are better ways to cook it out without baking the plastic layer The evaporater works well controlled heat with a minimum amount of possible damage to the UV laminate

I would never advise using a heat source inside the car to dry out. Way to much heat would be needed to go through the inner layer and PVB before it even started to warm up the outside glass, which in itself is often cooler than the inside layer. The smart thing about the drystar is its ability to keep the heat in a small area, this allows the glass to return to its residual temperature far quicker. Also should any breakout occur the leg will stop running as soon as it hits the cooler area. This is how drystar can advertise the fact that a leg will rarely run more than an inch. All you guys out tere with a torch try keeping the heat source as small as possible myabe just to the circumference of the damage and no more. You will find your dry outs faster. As Novus used to say why replace the 6 square foot of glass ahen only 1 square inch is damaged. Why heat up 6 square inches when only one is wet. Have I any experience with dry out, yep every single repair since I started apart from maybe a very rare few.

Are there any cordless/battery operated options which are similar to the moisture evaporator sold from Delta? I am striving for a 100% mobile kit, and for practice repairs won't have a vehicle nearby me (with a battery, anyway) and so won't be able to use a 12v style. I have done some looking, and while I am planning on getting a butane torch, I would like both options to test to see which is better for me. And, if as someone else mentioned, it is advisable to have both on hand, I would like a cordless option which I feel would give me the greatest flexibility, if it is available. Before I go out and buy a hair dryer (heh) I'd love to see if anyone around here has found anything like I'm describing already.

Thanks.

PS - I started going through the forums from oldest -> newest, reading almost everything, I've only made it through 10 pages so far, but there is a wealth of good information there. Time consuming, but it has so far answered many questions I had, and some I hadn't even thought to ask! The reason I'm starting at oldest first, is to sort of watch the evolution of ideas, that way I can get a better grasp of WHY a certain technique is accepted instead of just doing it and not knowing why. I think it will make me a better technician overall if I know WHY and HOW something is working, rather than just accepting that it does.

Delta Kits sells a 12 volt rechargeable battery for the moisture evaporator.
The same battery can also be used to power the cure light.