WIndshield chip fix

[fazool]

I used Permatex's "Professional Series" Windshield Repair Kit last year (on my daughter's 850) and again yesterday on my S60. After the second positive experience, I figured it deserved a good review.

I spent seven years supervising an optical instruments engineering team and did a lot of work with glass bonding. My expectations for this product were, therefore, rather high.

The product is an anaerobic and UV-curable resin, suitable for stone chips and small cracks. When cured it seems smooth and perfectly clear. Both my applications were stone chips where a small section of glass (a little smaller than pencil eraser) was chipped out. The filled in section is completely invisible now. The resin filled in larger cracks as well. Very tiny cracks, however, won't allow the resin to wick in and remain visible.

The product works exceptionally well but the instructions are poorly written.

There is a piece in the kit called a "pedestal" that looks like a small upside-down funnel. With a washer-shaped two-sided foam tape disc, this pedestal gets attached to the glass over the chip. First the tape disc is attached to the glass (around the chip), then the pedestal is attached to that.

This pedestal is then filled with a very thin liquid resin that runs into the glass.

A syringe is then attached to the narrow end of this pedestal and drawn up, sucking air out of the hole. I presume this creates vacuum the so resin can get "sucked" back into the tiny nooks and crannies. This might also help start the anaerobic curing process.

So, the pedestal is stuck to the windshield and then filled with liquid resin. The syringe is then connected and pulled up. Resin does NOT get sucked into the syringe, just air. This sits for ten minutes.

Then the syringe is pushed in (forcing resin into the chip and cracks). The syringe then sits for 20 minutes to pre-cure.

The syringe plunger has two notches which lock it in place during the waiting periods. The first phase locks the plunger pulled out all the way. The second phase locks the plunger pushed back in "halfway".

The resin is very thin so it can get into tiny gaps, so it WILL trickle down your windshield during the 20 minute wait period. Simply wipe it off with a dry towel then with rubbing alcohol. It comes off easily and cleanly.

After the second phase, a clear yellow plastic card is stuck over the hole (to flatten and cover the resin).

Place the car in direct sunlight to fully harden the UV-curable resin.

After an hour, use a razor blade and lightly scrape the glass to shave off excess resin.

Everything is included in the kit, including a safety razor and alcohol wipe, but I used more rubbing alcohol to clean up excess resin.

The whole process took 40 minutes, from start to clean-up. The kit is about $15 at any auto parts store.

I can now say the results are typical and, for me, have lasted well over a year without any visible changes.

My technical experiences also support the claim that this bonding resin is strong and totally reliable. The best part, however, is how invisble the fix looks.

[E Showell]

I've used a similar kit -- not sure whether it was Permatex or not -- with good results.