Let's get some discussion going on this. Below is a picture of a break with three points of impact. Each impact point has a small combination break so there's really 3 breaks from one object. The legs of the breaks cross each other so resin may flow from one break to another or it may not. Here are some questions:
- How do you go about drying these breaks out since they cover an area larger than the moisture evaporator can cover? Move it around over all three breaks for or focus on each one individually?
- How do you go about filling these? Fill one, cure -> Fill next one, cure -> Fill next one, cure OR fill all three and then cure? I know this depends on if they are tied together or not so, for discussion, let's say that the resin will flow from one partially into another and wont go any further.
- Does this get billed as one break or three?
Move the drystar around.
Put chip savers or clear packing tape over the smaller impact pits to seal them, and then inject into the biggest pit.
Works every time.
Mr Bill, yes I cure the pit fill that I have used on the pits I am not filling from. I have found if I do not fill and cure that far away pit then the resin will take the easy way out rather than fill to the end of the legs.
As we say over here there is more than one way to skin a cat.
The 4th break is just the reflection of the 3rd. This is technically not one break imo. It's 3 separate breaks that happen to be connected. Just because the damage occurred in a single event or by a single chunk of debris shouldn't matter really. An insurance company might want to argue about it, but they are the idiots and we are the experts, so don't let them push you on something like this. IMO very few techs can do this type of work anyway. The average wsr/glass shop guy would butcher this one, if they even give it a try at all.
This is one of those situations where you have to choose a method and then just make it work. Experience is invaluable here... there is no book that can teach it. There are several ways to attack that damage, and you can't always know which is the best technique until you are neck deep. Sometimes resin will flow between breaks with no resistance and other times it's tight enough you can actually work each break without losing too much resin/pressure. But the safest bet is to do as mentioned... seal any additional impact points using a thick pit resin, and work the whole thing as one break from a single impact point. The downside to that, is the extra time and pressure required to fill it will likely create some degree of flowering/bleeding. You won't know until you do it. Every glass and damage is different... proverbial box of chocolates
For this one most likely I would put some pit filler on the contact point of the 2 outside breaks and fill from the center break they look connected. Lots of vac to remove the air several cycles and they should fill like a regular repair. If not you can drill and fill where you missed as far as the numer to tell the insurance companies thats a personal call
screenman wrote:Mr Bill, yes I cure the pit fill that I have used on the pits I am not filling from. I have found if I do not fill and cure that far away pit then the resin will take the easy way out rather than fill to the end of the legs.
As we say over here there is more than one way to skin a cat.
I grew up in Northern Ireland.
(United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.)
We regularly watched BBC and ITV.
I am quite familiar with your culture.
I like to fill from each or both ends toward the middle. If you have enough room to set up two bridges on each of the outside damages, so much the better. The biggest potential problem with beginning at the middle and working toward the outside is that if either or both of the two outside damages aren't well enough connected to the middle damage to allow adequate resin flow and you've filled and cured the outside pits, you'll have to drill one or both of the outside damages to provide adequate access. I don't fill and cure the center pit prior to filling the outside damages particularily if I'm using two bridges simultaneously because leaving the center pit open allows air to escape as it is displaced by resin and more often than not makes the exercise faster and easier. However, Glassdoctor is right when he says that there is no substitute for experience. The best way to learn how to repair this type of damage is try some that go upside down on you. Builds character in a hurry.
