For those of you who have never repaired a chip in your windshield, this article is for you! I bought this repair kit for $11. I've heard some insurance companies will give you the kits, but I've never been that lucky. This is my first time doing such a repair, and it was quite easy to do!

So a few months back, I was driving on the freeway when an object was kicked up by a truck ahead of me and struck the top middle of the windshield--fortunately resulted in only a bullseye chip--an eyesore but not a stress crack!

THE UGLY


AFTER THE REPAIR


TO THE DETAILS
It was irritating enough to want to fix, but not big enough to want to replace the whole windshield


So I picked up this repair kit from my local auto supply store (Kragen) for about $11.


I always wondered how difficult it was to repair glass and how good of a repair I could expect? Inside the kit there was a syringe of resin, a razor blade, a push pin, transparent film squares, an alcohol wipe, an adhesive disc, and a little funnel type of adaptor for the syringe.


The instructions are two sided, make sure you read the side on bullseye repair because they are different from repairing long cracks!




The first thing you do is wipe the glass clean with an alcohol wipe, then remove the protective backing from the foam rubber disk (make sure you pop the little center hole out first) and center this over the bullseye.


Make sure to press this down completely--check it from the inside with a flashlight too!


Viewed from inside with a flashlight, I could see that there weren't any air bubbles.


Have a towel ready--you will need this later, but keep it here.



Attach the syringe here (make sure you properly prep it before installing here--that is turn it upside down and push the air out--you've seen them in movies before they inject someone, they point the needle up and push the syringe so some squirts out!


Once attached you want to take advantage of the vacuum that's created when you pull the plunger back, it naturally wants to spring forward. Of course this will only happen if you truly attached the adhesive disk earlier without any airbubbles! So you just pull the plunger back and release it--forcing the resin into the bullseye crack. Repeat this atleast 10 times.


Then move the car into the sun for 30 minutes to an hour depending on whether you have full sunlight or its cloudy out. Don't worry, this isn't like an epoxy where the whole thing will get hard and glue to your windshield!

Now remove the syringe and cap it. Before you pull the little attachment disc off, make sure to have the towel ready because the resin will flow down all over as soon as you pull it off!







Almost can't even see it now!


From inside, I barely even see it.



Just wipe it dry, and remove the adhesive disk. Wipe it clean with Clarity and inspect the results. For me, it looks much better! Though the crack isn't completely gone, the worst of the bulleye is gone. Maybe I need another repair, but the process was easy enough and worth $11!

One more time
BEFORE


AFTER

 

i always wondered if you could fix something like that.
VERY nice write up octaneguy.
i'll keep this for future reference and blame you if i mess up

 

Haha. Thanks! It's a pretty simple process. I was afraid that the resin would harden like a glue and be all messy but apparently it only hardens when its on the glass, compressed, and allowed to cure under sunlight. The resin inside the syringe doesn't cure though, so it stays fluid.

 

I've wondered about kits like that...looks like it works pretty good.

Does that just fill the hole/crack so it optically makes it less visible or does it also reinforce it so so it less apt to form a crack and then a longer crack then longer, leading to replacement?

I have a hole in my windshield that looks just like your's did, but there is also an inch long crack extending on either side and through the hole....hasn't changed in 6 months so I wasn't planning on doing anything about it

 

Added thoughts

If you have RainX on the windshield the resin will not penetrate fully - scrape off RX with a razor blade.
During the repeated suction / transfer process push on the inside of the windshield at the impact point to facilitate the removal of dirt and water and replcement with resin.

 

I never knew this could be done at home.

Another thing to consider. . . I called my insurance company a few months ago and asked what it would cost to drop my comprehensive deductible to $0 and was surprised to find that it was only an extra dollar a month. I've got a pretty good sized chip on the passenger side now and will get a new windshield when it starts bugging me.

 

This is wierd, as yesterday I got a big chip in my windshield ! I might try this rather than replace the thing, since I heard that even if you have insurance, they usually only pay for their "selected" shops to do the repair. The factory window comes with a kit that replaces all the plastic and seals around the window, which are difficult to remove without breaking. A local Mini owner is unhappy with the seals a store installed and they broke the A pillar plastic cover--it was he who warned me about this. Also, is there any 3rd party window maker who can supply or replace the rain-sensor? In the end I might have to get the dealer to replace the window.

cheers, and thanks for the write up.

 

The kit says it will repair up to a 12" crack. I'm not certain if it's just an optical repair or it strengthens it as well. This info page doesn't make any claims about strengthening it. But I would have to imagine that anything that fills in the cracks and cures would be providing more strength to the cracked area than nothing.

http://www.permatex.com/documents/td...tive/09103.pdf

Product Info
http://www.permatex.com/products/aut...Repair_Kit.htm

 

Anybody know if these kits work on the tiny spider 'cracks'. Size of a bulleseye but without the smooth cone shaped damage.

 

The only requirement is that the crack be large enough you can put the resin inside. For bullseye cracks you use the plunger suction method as I showed here. For longer cracks, you just apply the resin to the crack and seal it with these little plastic squares, and you press from the inside of the windshield at the crack point to allow the resin to seep into the cracks that open each time you press the glass. So I would imagine it would work if you can get the resin into them.

Richard

 

Thanks OctaneGuy! I just picked up a kit from my local PepBoys ($10) and will give it a try tomorrow. I presume that the tight seal is so that the plunging can force the resin into the cracks. Even with a bullseye, or stareye, does pressing from the inside help.
Of course, I'll use the old Australian method: suck it and see (not literally, haha.)

 

Just a bit of advice... when pushing from the inside, do so VERY lightly I did this to mine and wound up extending the crack about 2 inches I didn't even push very hard

 

I think it does. I pressed from the inside to help distribute the resin and I think it helped. But as Drillslinger said, you don't need to press very hard. As for the air tight seal, that's correct. A vacuum is created when everything is air tight. If not, then you can't use the vacuum effect to force the resin into the cracks.

Richard

 

Awesome tip!

Also a good tip on the difference in insurance to go to $0 deductible on comprehensive. I'll probably make that phone call today!

 

Most Glass Companies won't repair a crack that is longer than 6" (they use a dollar bill to test). I've had success with these kits on bulls eye chips, but have never had much success on cracks.

 

I did the repair this morning, and will post photos later. All I can say is WOW! I had a bad hole with star cracks (1/4" long) and Im left with the hole, which looks like a bad chip, and 2 small stars about 1/8" long. It went from big and black to small and white, and I can live with it.
Again, thanks Richard (OctaneGuy)!

 

Heh heh terrific! Funny how we can make such big improvements with simple things! Glad it worked out for ya!

Richard

 

It's all about perspective. I didn't see OG's post, but I used the same kit and got the same results. Maybe I am too picky, but in my view it didn't work because I can still see where the chip was. It is better, but it's not invisible.

 

I had Safelite fix my last one ($50) and I can see it, even though I made them come back for a second try. Even the experts can't make it totally disappear. I think I'll try to fix the new one myself ($10<$50).

 

Detailing is the same way. It's about improving what you got, not about making it brand new again. For me, my dark round chip turned into a thin barely noticeable half circle. It's definitely about realistic expectations. I mean, I wouldn't expect it to be invisible for $10--only a new windshield will do that!

Good to know!

 

Thanks OctaneGuy, for bringing this product to my attention. My windshield was hit by a rock on the freeway, leaving a half inch diameter bullseye in the center, about 6 inches from the bottom. I remembered seeing this thread and thought I would give it a try.

First, I'd like to mention that the manufacturer of the kit (Permatex) has an excellent how-to video on their website:
http://www.permatex.com/videos/video...hield_eng.html.



On close examination of the damage, the surface of the glass was perfectly smooth both inside and out. There was one very tiny pit in the center, no larger than normal pitting elsewhere on the windshield. It was as though the outer layer of the glass survived the hit and all of the damage was internal. I was very skeptical that the repair kit could do anything because it didn't seem as though there was anyplace where the resin could enter or fill in. I went ahead and tried it anyway. It went easily as described by OctaneGuy and the manufacturer's video. OctaneGuy gave a good tip to be ready to catch the excess resin as you pull the pedestal off the glass (not mentioned in the manufacturer's instructions).

I was amazed at the results. It repaired so well that my camera couldn't focus on it. In these photos, you can barely see a couple of small light dots that remained. In real life they look like chips from normal windshield pitting, and actually some pits elsewhere on the glass are worse. Thanks OctaneGuy!

 

dang, good job!

 

Wow very nice results! Looks even better than my own results! The printed instructions did mention about catching the resin with a towel--but it didn't say when, where, or why--so of course, I removed the towel, before removing the pedestal and that's when I realized why you should take care in catching the fluid that flows out.

Always happy to see others getting positive results and learning to do something that potentially saved hundreds of dollars and prevented a daily eye sore.

Great job!

 

I saw that in the instructions, but it sounded like just a precaution against careless goof accidents, like maybe dropping the tube of resin. It didn't seem like for a specific purpose and the video didn't show any excess resin running out.

I practically gasped when I peeled off the pedestal and the bullseye underneath had disappeared. Starting out, my thought was how could it possibly do anything and I almost didn't continue.

 

This treatment *will* prevent star chips from spreading further, as well as helping to prevent new cracks from forming at the "stress risers" caused by a bullseye chip, even if there were no immediate cracks.

In fact, that's the main purpose of the treatment. The cosmetic improvement is secondary. I do this because I'll go to almost any lengths to avoid having a windshield replaced - I've had too many problems in the past with leaking, wind whistling, damaged trim, windshield sealant getting into inappropriate places, etcetera.

The two repairs pictured in this thread look as good as any I've seen or done. A drastic improvement, although not totally invisible. I've only got one repair spot on my car right now, but it went from a "star" chip to two barely-noticeable pockmarks in the glass. It hasn't spread in the six months since the repair, and my eye isn't drawn to it every time I look through the windshield like it was before the repair.

The other nice thing about doing it yourself is that some repair services won't repair a chip that's "in the driver's line of sight", and they can sometimes be overly-conservative when it comes to what they will and won't repair.