[tranquility]

I'm getting a couple of lousy smallish cracks, any suggestions for good DIY kits that actually work and makes them disappear? TIA.

[Red Bread]

If you have glass coverage in your insurance, this should be free. Unless you just want to learn to do it yourself, call your insurance and let Safelite do it.

[overcoil]

did the cracks emanate from a chip or are they really just chips?

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...shield-repair/

Griot's Garage used to sell a chip repair kit but looks like they stopped.

[tranquility]

Came from flying rocks.

[overcoil]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Came from flying rocks.

if a rock hits the windshield and creates a crater depending on size you can fill the crater rather easily, buff and possibly make a hard to detect repair.

if a rock hits the windshield and creates a starburst; chip with veins emanating from it, then if the entire defect is smaller then a quarter good chance a repair may prevent the crack increasing but probably won't make the defect disappear.

The worst scenario is if you get a rock hit that creates a chip or a starburst but instead of that initial damage staying stable the impact starts to spread then you need to repair as soon as possible and then you need to inspect to find out if the repair holds and be prepared for possible window replacement if it does spread.

[c1pher]

We got the permatex windshield repair kit on three different occasions through Jeff Bezos' website. Works well but you have to be patient, make sure you properly fill the crack and then make sure it cures long enough so you don't end up pulling the resin back out. At first, it took a few tries to get it right, but they are typically less than $15. You can do a number of chips with one kit if you do it right.

[tranquility]

Tx, I'll check out that kit. I have those small crater ones that won't spread but still looks nasty. No veins, it's all contained in a circle pattern.

[RM7]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

If you have glass coverage in your insurance, this should be free. Unless you just want to learn to do it yourself, call your insurance and let Safelite do it.

Which sometimes doesn't work because you can't wait around for them or set up an appointment when you need to use the car. I always keep a few kits around for this, but I use my insurance when it works out.

The purpose of the repair isn't to make it invisible, it's to stop your windshield from cracking. Even when the pros do it, it doesn't just "go away". Sometimes it'll be nearly invisible when they are done, sometimes not.

[tranquility]

I care more about the aesthetics at this pt since I'm sure they won't grow, been years in place.

[WingZeroX5]

Call your insurance and let them handle it

[RM7]

Originally Posted by tranquility

I care more about the aesthetics at this pt since I'm sure they won't grow, been years in place.

Then replace the windshield

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

Then replace the windshield

Will it be good as the original or will have nagging issues? Will chk but not sure if I have coverage.

It's not too bad, just 2 very small cracks so we'll see if worth the hassle of them messing w/ my car.

[RM7]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Will it be good as the original or will have nagging issues? Will chk but not sure if I have coverage.

It's not too bad, just 2 very small cracks so we'll see if worth the hassle of them messing w/ my car.

Cracks will propagate, it may take a while, but eventually you'll hit more rocks, the windshield will see stresses from something else, and of course there's heating and cooling.

We are somewhat "experts" when it comes to this up in Alaska, because they put freaking rocks on the road for traction for all the dip****s that refuse to get studded tires in the winter. So of course these go flying everywhere, especially before the big "clean up" in the spring where they run the street sweepers down the highway and collect all the crap, so they can use it again. We get peppered with all sorts of hits. By fixing the chips, you significantly increase the life of your windshield. Here, you pretty much have to do it every year, but if you get lucky and are on top of it, you can stretch that out some. I got 2 years out of my current one. "Fixing" doesn't mean you can't see the chips after you fix them, it just means you've applied the resin correctly, scraped the excess, and prevented the chip from propagating.

So I'm not sure what you mean by "fixing" it, if you mean replacing the entire thing or fixing a few cracks. Both will "fix" it, if the cracks are mall enough and not located on an edge, but only one will look "totally perfect" obviously. We take so many hits here that I don't give a crap if it's OEM glass or not, as long as it's the right thickness (OEM specs) it's fine, because really, nothing is going to hold up over the long run. Far more important to fix the little chips when they occur.

[tranquility]

Ya, like I said, I'm 'fixing' it just for aesthetics, nothing else. There are very minute chips that haven't grown at all. The structure is still sound *knock wood*.

[m5james]

I bought a RainX repair kit at Wal-Mart for like $11 and have repaired like 10 chips on 4 different cars. The key is using a heat gun inside the car so that capillary action will suck the glue into the window, then pull it outside into direct sunlight since the glue cures via UV rays. Works great and just as good as any tent style rock chip guy in a parking lot and no need to call insurance to add claims to your policy.

[SchillerM]

Originally Posted by WingZeroX5

Call your insurance and let them handle it

Check with insurance company to make sure they don't raise rates for this.. AAA Texas did when I got my M5 windshield replaced.