Extreme Weather Techniques

[GLASSTIME]

Brent,

Interesting as some techs here may not know this. I know at first I didnt.
Lets say its mid winter out and a tech starts a repair. He warms the glass to specified temp , yet he forgets to warm the resin to the same or within the same heat range.

first what is Delta Kits reccomendation on how to warm up the resin?

Also would it be wise to leave your kit in your vehicle overnight (winter or summer)
Would it get so cold that it could freeze? (Resin, Polish')
Would the resin warm up to much from humidity that it would become contaminated?? (Resin or Polish')

[Brent Deines]

I always recommend storing your equipment and resins indoors when not in use, especially at night. There are many reasons for this recommendation including those you mentioned. Condensation do to freezing and then warming in bottles is a possibility, although I cannot say I have ever seen it cause a problem. Freezing the polish could cause it to separate, but shaking it up is all that is necessary to remix.

I have to admit that when I lived in Montana my resin was left in the truck in sub-zero conditions for several hours at a time, but I always brought it in at night and I never experienced any problems. In extreme cold or hot weather I tried to keep my repair system in the cab of the truck with me so the tools and resins were kept at a reasonably consistent temperature. If I need to warm my resin I do so with the hair dryer at the same time I warm the glass. I don't normally have to cool the resin, but on those rare occasions when it is hotter than the glass I would use the air conditioner to cool it down for a few minutes. I have not tried it yet but the new heat exchanger might also work for that purpose.

I now use a digital thermometer to check the temperature of the glass and the resin, but in the old days I did everything by touch. The resin does not have to be exactly the same temperature as the glass, and the glass does not "have" to be in the recommended temperature range to get a good repair. However keeping the glass and resin near the recommended temperature range will make your repairs go faster and easier.

You should also not leave your tools and resins in your vehicle overnight due to the possibility of theft. We have very few tech support calls due to weather related problems, but we do hear of a number of thefts every year.

[mrchips]

In most cases, most repairs can be done without doing a lot of extra things unless the weather is extremely cold. You will notice that the colder it gets, the resin doesn't flow as freely. So keep your resins warm and use the thinner ones designed for the star breaks when you are in a really cold spot.

Then I suggest you consider two things.

One, Warm the car up with both the defroster and heater (as already mentioned in previous posts)

Two, go and buy a hair dryer that works on 12volt plugs. You can find these at any of the larger truck stops and RV supply places.

Usually this takes care of the situation. On a sunny cold day the UV will still cure the resin quickly (even though it isn't warm), so remember to keep the direct sunlight away from the repair until you are ready for it to start curing.

Stay Warm and Good Luck