Windshield Repair Forum

I'am under the impression that most star breaks require drilling. If this is the case what is the proper method of drilling to ensure that all the legs fill ? do you just drill the impact area (pit) or do you drill in different locations ie: the individual legs if they wont fill properly. also I have seen alot talked about flexing the pit area what exactly is the proper method of doing this? how much pressure do you apply and are you doing this from the inside or the outside ? any input would be appereciated

Thanks
Brad

I really really try to only drill a break once, always in the impact area. Sometimes on a really large break I might have to deal againg, but this is very seldom. Flexing is something you will do a lot. I use a probe. I just put it on the glass and press with my finger. Practice flexing. You will get a feel for how much pressure you need to put on the window to get a leg to open up. When you flex while the bridge is on you can see the resin just follow the air that you are creating.

I also 'pop' most breaks I do. I'm not sure if you do that. I place a small probe (the point the size or smaller than a drill bit- you can even use a drill bit.) into the drill hole and hit it with my other probe (the bigger one I use to flex). This will usually produce a pocket of air. On a star break this pocket of air will usually reach all the legs.

Then I put the bridge on and if I need to I flex.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

Good advice Julie! If I may add one other tip. Before you drill or tap a mini bulls-eye, gently flex the legs where they meet the impact point (on the outside of w/s). This will show you if the legs go back to the impact point which will allow for better resin flow. It also may connect any legs to the impact point that were invisible before you flexed.

GENTLY FLEX!!

When you drill a star break Start with the drill at a 45 then take to a 90 drill straight down. No farther than the distance of the ball on the end of your bit. If you are not using a round bur you'll have to practice as to how far you need to drill. If you place a drop of resin in the pit at this point and then flex it with your probe, you should see resin flowing out into the legs. If not applying a bit more pressure will pop a bulls eye as stated in the other posts. With the resin already present when you pop the bulls eye it will suck the resin up as it pops then you will only have to worry about getting resin to the ends of the legs when you apply your injector. At this point apply you injector, run pressure and vacuum cycles as suggested by your manufacturer. Flex the legs to fill in any stubborn areas.

I wonder about those extra steps, Mafsu that you and others have suggested and I've wondered since the day I joined the forum.

A new post on applying resin before applying the injector ensues.

I hope to clear this up in my own mind once and for all.

Julie,

Your idea of "popping" the break sounds interesting. I have had two breaks that may have qualified. One happens to be on my truck. It was a smal starbreak that I attempted to fill the first time. It didn't work. Then I tried to drill. Big mistake, it looks worse than it did before. It was small to begin with, and I just couldn't get it to fill (good thing it was my car ).

The second one happened yesterday. The legs were very fine almost hairlike. It filled okay but I think I could have done a better job.

Would this technique help? If so, is it a must to drill first? What is the risk of breaking the glass?

Lots of feedback is appreciated .

My personal opinion is to buy the smallest drill bit that you can find. Then once you drill go only about half way down through the first layer of glass. Then take a double end scribe and tap a very small and little bullseye, it works wonders in fixing the chip. You have to make sure you are using a double end scribe to get a small hole. The legs should fill fine if you are also flexing the outside of the glass and holding the flex on the individual legs.
David
Coitster

Julie,

I rarely ever drill a star break. I suppose it depends on the equipment you are using, but we teach people to fill breaks without drilling or popping 99.9% of the time. Typically if you can feel the impact point, there is no need to drill. It may take a minute or so longer to fill, but you will save that in drill time and the repair will look better if you don't drill. The exception to the rule is long cracks. I do recommend drilling and popping a small bullseye at the end of a long crack.

A lot of good tricks here I would recommend another thing for popping your breaks use a sewing needle. I carry two sizes #10 and a large commercial machine type don

Use a magnifying glass and a bit of pressure to see if the legs meet the middle of the hit.

If not, use a needle to pop a small bullseye.

Stay away from using a probe or even the drill bit itself regardless of the type or size.

Try to keep the angle of the needle insertion as vertical as possible but vary the angle within reason according to how far the spread is between the leg and the center hit.

The chances of knocking out a chip of glass are far less when using a needle to pop a bullseye if that pop becomes necessary.

Probably a million ways to pop a bull but that's mine.