Flex the pit !!

[sunshine wr]

the tools i use woulld'nt allow you to do this through the injector head .

[Delta Kits]

Desertstars,

You are correct, that is what Boyd (it seems to me) was talking about. My post was in response to Vidales, who said that it goes against what Delta Kits recommends.

I needed to clear up for our customers, that while this may work, we recommend flexing the break as I described.

[boyd]

Masfu knows what I'm talking about. Yes, the probe or scratch awl is inserted into the injector assembly and gently pressed in the pit (the one you've made with your drill.)
Someone said or thought I was talkling about repairing small surface chips. NNNOOOTTTT !!!! This works really well with all repairs but especially small cracks that are smaller that the head of your injector
that are too small to flex outside on the glass because your injector head covers it. Try this method on small rock chips (not surface chips).
This technique will take you from an average repairman to an above average and give you better results. If it's a large impact point where all the crushed fine glass turn to sand as soon as your bur touches it this will not work. You need to be able to drillabout 3/8 -1/2 through the first layer of glass.
If you need further explanation call me 931.206.1822
This typing stuff is tough work.

Tip two: you can also put your scratch awl in side the injector assem. and just beside your drill hole flex the crack on the outside of the glass (but inside the injector assembley) yeah !!!! now your getting better. You have to think outside the box. By doing this the resin will flow into the crack from gravity- not injector pressure. Don't be stingy with the resin.
2 drops won't work. You need to have enough in there to barely fill the bottom of the injector tip. (your welcome Delta resin salesmen).

[gt_repair]

you can do this even with out the injector assembly. Just put a drop in the hole you just drilled and do the same thing using your probe. Sometimes you can push on the out side of the break on one side or the other depending what way the break is laying. go on the bottom side of the break if you know what I mean.. that way you open it up with out breaking the glass in the drill hole.. If all fails then use the probe in the drill hole, If that does not quit fill, then just tap the back of the probe to pop the glass. (that is last resort to me by poping the hole)

[mafsu]

I don't insert the probe into the injector assembly on a regular basis. I apply a drop of resin into the pit then flex the damage to allow the resin to flow into the damage. I then place the injector over the pit(resin already in the injector) and used pressure and vaccuum cycles to remove the rest of the air from the damage. This is the way I was trained and has always worked excellently for me. I do not use a delta injector. Nothing against delta I have had the opportunity to try their equipment(a pdr guy I do work with recently bought one of their kits). Their equipment is just fine.

[boyd]

OK I got to rest my fingers.

Masfu. Stay with me. I feel blessed that I have just shared something with experienced repairmen and they are about to add something to their arsenal to make them 20% better. I promise all of you this works.
I think many repairmen "pop" a bullseye too much. Flexing the pit works better unless you have a stubborn leg that won't take resin. When you do this you can flex for about 5 sec. then release. Do that 3-4x's. One guy was asking about getting all the crushed glass out and this going against what Delta teaches. I'm sorry I couldn't be clearer for him. I'm sorry buddy but you're a little confused. You should get all the crushed glass out of the pit. Delta is right.
Good luck. Try different things. Find a repair philosophy and work within that and don't be afraid to try new things. Heat is overrated. I haven't done it since my first year. 1994.
Call if I can help.

[mafsu]

I'm with you Boyd. Flexing the pit is how I was trained to repair bullseye's, half moons, etc.... When I was trained ('96) I was also taught to pop a bullseye in all star repairs. I found out through my own experimenting that stars hardly ever need to be popped. Flexing the pit allows the resin to flow into the legs.

[desertstars]

Aw, come on folks.

I don't mean to become argumentative and I don't intend to be or to start some string here.

Let us consider the elementals and the essentials.

Either drill or don't drill the repair but apply your bridge and your injector properly when effecting that repair.

That's why you bought the equipment in the first place.

The key to a proper repair is a combination of vacuums and pressures using a quality resin. That is the basic KISS reason why repair is a viable alternative to replacement and why we have become something to be feared by our competition--yes, competition--increasingly over the past twenty years.

I just might go through a v/s cycle two or three times depending on the damage.

Anything less than the minimum is to resort to the ineffectual eight dollar repair kits sold on a one shot basis from some hardware store.

Pressurized resin WILL absorb air given TIME. A vacuum or vacuums WILL allow the air (black) to be absorbed and expelled and replaced with the resin.

Decreasing the injector pressure on a w/s can very will fill star cracks without flexing or heating.

Every one of those determinations is exactly what makes this business interesting rather than some rote replacement whether professionally replaced or replaced by a hack.

The major key to a satisfactory repair is good, maintained equipment, quality resin, and a multitude of other factors with various degrees of significance or insignificance with experience at the top of the list among the latter.

But, most of all, patience.

Give the equipment time to do the job and go someplace next door or across the street to look for another job while your equipment is really doing the work and stop worrying about advertising and merchandizing and marketing and sales and promotion.

Talk to people and look for chips and save your advertising budget for your kid's college education.

Jeez. Give your equipment a chance and it will perform 90% of the time without a bunch of pissing around.

I'm not averse to new ideas as long as they make sense.

But, there are certain procedures in this business that make good sense and have been proven to work and work effectively without too much more innovation.

Repairing a windshield properly doesn't require a rocket scientist but it does require a dedicated tech.

That's my five minute bite.

KISS.

[glassdoctor]

Easy, desertstars. (he he I think I've said that before... )

These guys are not suggesting anything new or off the wall. I used to do the same thing religiously on my repairs. It's addictive. I don't do it anymore, but it's not because it doesn't work... I just made a change in my tecniques and got away from it as a ritual.

It's very simple really. By pressing on the center of the drill hole or pit, you are opening up the entire break, no matter what kind of damage. Thinking of a bullseye is the easiest way to understand it... when you press on the center of a bullseye, it separates the broken cone of glass from the rest of the windshield and "opens" the break allowing resin to flow in easier. It does the same thing for stars etc. It does work really well on "batwings" "angel wings" whatever you want to call them. Bullseye are too easy to do with a quick vacuum pressure cycle, so I wouldn't mess with it for them anyway.

I don't poke down through my injector anymore, but the same thing can be done by sliding the injector to the side and doing it. Press gently and hold and watch the resin flow. When it stops, let off and repeat. It will get nearly a complete fill pretty quick this way on some breaks. But it would be very very very rare if it does the job 100%. It just gets a good jumpstart on the repair process, leaving only part of the job left for your professional tools. Even when you see the resin flow clear to the tips of the break, it won't stay there 100%. It needs at least a little time under pressure to be fully done.

I don't do much of this anymore, but I do often use it to "check" the progress of the repair. I will slide the injector to the side and check... if it's filling slow or has a problem spot I will use my pick to flex the pit or over the stubborn area... whatever is needed. It helps identify problems and give them a kick in the pants.

It has nothin to do with not using our equipment or taking shortcuts or anything... just a somehting different to do. I do think it's fun and maybe addictive to flex it and watch the resin flow throught the break.

And to think, no vacuum was neccessary. Hmmmm. All the companies that say you CAN'T repair a chip without vacuum...

[Coitster]

I love this post, now its getting fun.
David
Coitster