How to warm a windshield and remove moisture, reducing cold weather crack outs.
As the seasons change, windshield repair technicians begin reporting an increase in crack outs. Rain and snow can certainly create challenges not faced in warm, dry climates. But, understanding the primary cause of crack outs is first. Then adjusting your repair procedure accordingly will go a long way toward eliminating cold weather complications.
To repair properly, remove moisture from a windshield rock chip or small crack. The most popular way to remove moisture is with heat. However, heating a small area on a cold windshield too quickly may cause thermal stress and thermal stress may cause a crack out, so how you heat a damaged windshield is critical to achieving a successful windshield repair. Hopefully, these tips will help reduce cold weather crack outs.
Temperatures are rising! And we aren’t complaining… but your windshield might. The following are tips to help keep business running smoothly while reducing the risk of warm weather crack outs in changing temperatures.
For all windshield repair technicians:
- Remember, if a windshield is too hot to leave your hand on comfortably, it’s too hot to repair. The optimum glass temperature to repair a windshield is 70-100 degrees Fahrenheit. Delta Kits also offers the IR-102 Infrared Digital Thermometer to give you the exact temperature of the windshield.
- Do not spray cold water, alcohol, or any other liquid on a hot windshield. When checking for the presence of a hydrophobic coating (i.e. Rain-X, Aquapel, etc.), the temperature of the water needs to be similar to the temperature of the glass.
- When cooling the windshield, make sure to do it gradually. Sudden temperature changes greatly increase the chances of a crack out.
- If you’re using the air conditioner to cool the glass, use the floor vents to cool the entire cabin of the car to minimize the risk of cracking the glass. Directing cold air onto the damaged area is very risky.
- Always make sure the resin temperature is within 10 degrees of the glass temperature. Cold resin on hot glass or vice versa may make the damage spread…. Read More