screenman wrote:Whilst filling a crack I follow the resin up or down the crack with plenty of resin on top and place the curing film or tabs as I go. I do not wait until the crack is full from top to bottom before I place film on. I am not sure that explains it well I am having trouble explaining this one.
I am glad to see other people pushing the barriers of screen repair in this way we do repairs like this every day. Some of the glass I repair would cost up to $4,000 to replace.
Screenman, the only thing I didn't do was to run a bead of resin across the top before laying the curing film down. Looking back, that could've solved the problem. I'm thinking with the thicker resin I'm getting I could use that on top before I lay the curing film.
Any thoughts?
CV Windshield Repair wrote:Where were the spots located? How large were they?
If you look from the top down, they were right near the first crook in the crack. They were maybe 1/4 inch long and only 2 of them. They were sealed at the top and opened up to the PVB. Other thab that, just some specks scattered sparcely.
Dave M wrote:Mike,
Pushing the barriers of w/s repair, I'd say so!
How much time was involved doing this repair and were you able to charge your customer? Was it an insurance job?
More power to the tech that can successfully repair this type of crack. I would have suggested a replacement.
Can I take a guess as to where the air bubbles appeared? I'd say where the crack makes a sharp turn (middle of the crack). Usually at that point the crack tends to twist making it hard for the resin to flow by that point.
One last question....where on the w/s was this crack located?
Sorry if I sound a bit negative!
I did charge the customer. I quoted them $50 to repair that and 2 other chips. I was in the area already and she works for some really good friends of mine at the deli/bakery they own. A rule of thumb of mine is to be very nice to people with my food. Or that have access to food.
To repair that crack didn't take long. Drill, pop a bullseye to stop the crack, apply the bridge, add resin, realize I didn't run the crack into the bullseye enough, correct that and begin the wicking process from top down. I made special care to catch excess resin from running down and getting into the crack further down. If you don't pay attentio to that, then you run the possibility of the resin seeping into the crack and curing. If that happens you have just been screwed beacause you can't go any further. Then you may have to drill again and that just isn't cool.
All in all, that crack took about 15 minutes to do the crack itself. Longer to cure, fill the original impact and drill hole. Maybe I spent 40 miutes all together on that alone. Meanwhile working on the other 2 chips. I even found another chip, which I did free, when I cleaned the windshield. It was very small to begin with.
So lets see, 3 chips, a 15 inch crack, wiped my sweaty face with a paper towel filled with resin, followed by some oh #$#%^ and #@#@%^'s and a quick dash to the customers sprinkler. :eusa_clap BRAVO TO ME!!!!:redface:
All for $50 and a $15 tip for about 1 1/2 hrs.
GlasWeldTech wrote:It looks to me like the crack is on the driver's side and personally I wouldn't have touched it if this is so. (Due to light refraction from oncoming traffic at night)On the passenger side I would have been all over it. I am estimating a charge of around $90.00 retail. I charge $3 per inch plus the original break.
That sounds more inline with some of the other shops in my area. I don't have the overhead most do, have a full time job that pays my bills and believe in a fair price. I charge $45 for 1 chip. $5 for any extra and $60 for cracks up to 12 inches. It depends on the crack and customers situation if I'll go over that. I did one the other day that was halfway across the windshield plus a chip, ins job, billed it as 3 repairs and took about 2 hrs. They just wanted it fixed because of a fix-it ticket. Usualy, I would've turned it away but I was feeling generous in regards to the situation.
Sikandar wrote:I've done a few of these type of repairs recently.
My first two were not 100% satisfactory! But my most recent one was perfect! (Well! my customer was chuffed about it anyway):biggrin:
I think I know what your problem is, and to me thats not enough resin going into the crack.
From my short experience I've noticed that running the resin down/up the crack on the first go might not be enough. So I now run it back in the opposite direction.
Whatsmore, due to the strain on the windshield you'll find that the resin does not tend to fill the depth of the crack.
What I do for that is, as I'm running the resin along the crack (with the hand held injector, I place my other hand to the inside of the windshield (providing you can reach it) and gently push the windshied out (directly underneath where you are working). By doing this you will be able to see the missing bits filling up rather easily.
Hope this helps.
Regards
Sikandar
In this instance there was no need to flex any part. Once started the second time, there was no need to flex. The resin wicked in right out of the dropper. No need to even do the drops as suggested by DKI. But that technique doesn't always work and I'll have to make the drops.
