The Wise Crack

Windshield Repair Newsletter

The Wise Crack, published monthly, is the most widely circulated windshield repair newsletter available! It includes windshield repair tips, news, & marketing advice.

March 2009 Issue

Full Version:
www.deltakits.com/wisecrack/

Delta Kits Home:
www.deltakits.com

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ARA Paper

indshield Repair: What You Need to Know to Stay Safe

Improve Your Vehicle Safety While Protecting the Environment

(ARA) – Rain, ice and snow all make visibility difficult during the winter months, but if your windshield is damaged, your visibility is compromised no matter what time of year it is, making driving a dangerous activity.

"While driving, a vehicle's windshield can get damaged from the impact of road debris and rocks that get kicked up by other vehicles," says Korey Gobin, account executive at Delta Kits, a leading manufacturer of professional windshield repair equipment and supplies. "Even a small chip can cause visibility problems, so it's wise to repair the damage before it gets worse and it

A vehicle’s windshield has three basic functions, according to the National Glass Association, a trade group representing the glass industry: to prevent passengers from being ejected from the vehicle in an accident, to absorb the impact when an airbag deploys and to support the roof. In fact, industry experts have estimated that windshields provide up to 70 percent of the structural integrity in a rollover accident, and if left unchecked, damage caused by rocks and flying debris could ultimately cause a windshield to crumble rather than protect the passengers.

If you fix your damaged windshield now you can ensure that you and your family remain safe in your vehicle. If you have any of the following damage, you should be able to repair it for around $50 to $75:

Bull's-eye: A broken, circular pattern surrounding a chip in the center.
Star break: Long cracks that extend from a center chip that form a star shape.
Crack: Straight or crooked lines that extend across the glass pane.
Combination Break: Any combination of two or more of the above.

Luckily, these types of damage can be repaired without removing the windshield, saving you money and eliminating the possibility of bonding and leaking problems that sometimes occur with expensive windshield replacements. The integrity of the original factory seal will remain intact.

To repair the damage, a windshield repair technician will inject an optically matched acrylic resin into the damaged area of the windshield. The resin replaces the air trapped within the damaged area and is then cured, creating a molecular bond that strengthens the glass and keeps the damage from spreading.

Once cured, the resin is leveled to be flush with the glass surface and polished to a glass-like finish. When preformed properly, the repair will be nearly invisible and not detectable when you run your finger over it.

"Additionally, by repairing your windshield instead of replacing it, you are being eco-friendly," says Gobin. "The process for recycling an entire windshield is very complicated because windshields consist of two curved sheets of glass with a plastic (PVB) layer laminated between them. The glass needs to be separated from the PVB before it can be recycled. Currently this process is not cost effective. Windshield repairs are environmentally friendly and the waste produced can fit in the palm of your hand and weighs less than an ounce. Compare that to the approximately 25 pounds of waste generated by a windshield replacement."

Where do you find a qualified windshield repair technician? Windshield repairs are performed at automotive dealerships, glass shops and oil and lube shops. You might have even seen an enterprising windshield repair technician advertising in your neighborhood. This might be a good option because many of these mobile repair technicians can come to your office or home to repair your windshield so you don't have to drive anywhere.

With so many windshield repair opportunities, many people are considering this as a business opportunity. Training is easy and fast, and with a small investment in equipment, you can establish your own business part-time or full-time. Plus you'll help reduce environmental waste with your new, rewarding career. In today's economy and environmental climate this is a win-win combination for consumers and entrepreneurs.

 To gain more knowledge about the benefits of windshield repair and its positive environmental impact or what is involved in setting up a business, visit www.DeltaKits.com. Additionally, www.windshield-repair-forum.com is an excellent resource. As the world’s most popular online repair community, the site is frequented by windshield repair professionals from around the world. These professionals answer questions from consumers and share information with each other for the benefit of the windshield repair industry.

Courtesy of ARA content

 

-Korey Gobin

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Delta Kits Certfied Windshield Repair Technicians

 

Congratulations Classes of February 2009!

 

Arthur Baltrip

Le Thanh Chien

Brian Dawson

Scott Gibert

Benny Gomez II

Alfred Kyle Jesse

Chad Latapie

Raymond Scott Lemeilleur

Vo Thanh Long

Dave McElroy

Nguyen Hoang Minh Phung

Salvador Rivera

Tram Quoc Thai       

Huynh Huy Thong

Ngo Duc Tin

Dustin Woodcock

 

-Korey Gobin

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tech Tips

Curing Large Breaks

 

Large star and combination breaks present a number of challenges, but with a little extra time and care you can show a dramatic cosmetic improvement upon completion.

 

One thing that is often overlooked is the fact that cracks may extend beyond the edges of a standard curing tab, which can cause a repair to fail. The problem is that even if the cracks are properly filled, they will not be properly cured if not completely covered prior to curing. 

 

Obviously the solution is quite simple. Use multiple curing tabs, or strips of curing film to make sure every crack is completely covered. Run a little thin resin along the surface of filled cracks to help curing tabs stick and properly seal the surface of the crack. One drop every couple of inches is plenty if properly spread with an eye dropper or syringe.

 

The surface resin may cure in seconds, but it is important to cure for a full 5 minutes to ensure that the resin is cured all the way through. Remember, most windshield are made from a glass that blocks a percentage of the UV rays used to cure the resin, so reducing cure time may cause repair failure. 

 

If the damage is wider or longer than the area covered by your UV light, be sure to move your light as many times as necessary to get a complete cure on every part of the break, curing for 5 minutes each time the light is moved. Long crack lights, dual bulb lights, or multiple lights may be used to reduce the number of necessary light moves.

 

-Brent Deines

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Safety Tip

The bone structure of your face helps protect your eyes from injury due to impact from large objects, and eyelashes help protect against injury from small objects, but eyes are still very prone to injury if proper precautions are not taken to prevent accidents. Eye injuries are a serious matter. Not only can an eye injury be painful, but if severe enough could cause a loss of vision. Glass fragments can be very damaging to the eye, and glass is very difficult to locate and remove, especially when in the field. Windshield repair resin and headlight restoration chemicals may also cause damage to the eye, and even the most careful technician may fall victim to a defective bottle tip, failed injector seal, or any number of other unforeseen accidents.  

Remember, safety first! Always wear safety glasses or goggles when repairing windshields or restoring headlights. 

 

-Shawn Sparhawk

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What is New on the Windshield Repair Forum?

Delta Kits hosts the largest and most popular windshield repair forum in the world. This is the perfect place to ask questions, and get advice from thousands of windshield repair business owners and windshield repair technicians all over the world.

 

Below are some of the hot topics from February:

 

Hello To All Fellow WSR Techs

"Bubble Shields" ???

Starting Up Now?

drill speed advice

Please Help, First Repair

 

As of February 25, 2009 the world’s largest windshield repair forum included 33,840 posts on 4077 topics.   

 

If it’s happening in the windshield repair industry you will find out about it at www.windshield-repair-forum.com.  Membership is free, so join the windshield repair forum today. You’ll be glad you did.

 

-Korey Gobin

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

February 2009 Recap

 

The month of February was full of activities for Delta Kits. We attended conferences, an open house, a trade show, a vendor meeting, and conducted our renowned hands-on training course.

Delta Kits Account Executives Bruce McDonald and Korey Gobin traveled to a vendor meeting. The Meeting was very informative and productive as the dynamic duo was able to teach Managers how to properly use Delta Kits Windshield Repair Equipment.

Bruce headed to Arlington, Texas for the Southwest Carwash Association Expo and Convention and Korey headed to Orlando, Florida for the National Glass Association Conference. At the trade show in Arlington, Bruce exhibited Delta Kits’ new EZK-125 Silver Anniversary Professional Windshield Repair System and demonstrated the brand new Delta Kits Professional Headlight Restoration System. To top it all off, Bruce led a hands-on training and certification course for 10 technicians. 
In Orlando, Korey was formally introduced to the NGA/NWRA Repair of Automotive Glass Standards (ROLAGS) Committee, Marketing Sub Committee, and the Product Performance Committee. He also attended various meetings that related to the windshield repair industry. During the meetings it is always Delta Kits ambition to keep things simple and practical as we strive to not add or subtract from the simple practice of repairing a windshield. We continue to stand by our company slogan “The Proof is in the Repair”

After the National Glass Association Conference, Korey traveled to Riverside, California to attend a distributor open house. There were more than 125 people in attendance and Korey demonstrated how to properly repair a windshield using Delta Kits equipment. Also, Delta Kits raffled off an EZK-101 windshield repair system and the winner was Sal Morales of A1 Auto Glass. Congratulations Sal!

Bruce and Korey safely made it back to Eugene, Oregon. The duo has begun preparations for the March 20th training and certification class to be held at Delta Kit’s new training facility.

-Korey Gobin

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------