Windshield Repair Forum

I repaired 2 WS star breaks today on a 2003 Mercedes that was purchased at a auction. Both were about 1 1/2 inches in size and a half inch apart. I could see a skeleton of all the legs on one and the other was almost invisible when I finished. The WS had glass x on it. I dont understand how one can look so good and the other leaves more skelton when looking out the glass. Both look good from the outside and only a slight detection. This is for you veterans. I watched the legs fill prior to sealing. Why does some star legs fill and become invisible and others have a visible skeleton? NO air or black in the legs. ? ? ? The dealer was puzzled by this also, thinking I had done something wrong with the repair.

I forgot to add that the windshield had a very dark tint.

Without a photo it is not easy to say what the problem might be. Possible causes could be contaminants ( chemicals, moisture) in the cracks preventing 100% adhesion of the resin to the walls or viewing angles inside the car looking from the drivers position which might amplify cosmetic differences between the repairs, being so close to each other and accepting the rule that no 2 repairs ever turn out the same.

Glasseye wrote: no 2 repairs ever turn out the same.

If you watch the cracks filling until all of the air is gone, that is as good as you are going to get. Every repair is different. You really dont know what the cosmetic result of the repair will be. Try taking before and after pictures so you can check your results.

If one of the chips was there earlier that the other, and you said the shield had rain X on it, the shield may have been cleaned more often with one chip that the other. Did you use a pretreatment to remove the rain X from the chips and dry them back out before repairing the break?