Category: Windshield Repair Kit

What is a Windshield Repair Bridge?

Windshield repair bridges are essential for fixing cracks and chips in auto glass. Without the proper tools, your repair could fail and the damage to your windshield could get worse. When attempting to fix a windshield, many people wonder what is the proper way to use a windshield repair bridge.

What Does a Windshield Repair Bridge Do?

These devices suction to auto glass and aid in the repair of windshields by forcing resin into the crack or chip. The tool secures to the windshield and provides steady and constant pressure so the resin is able to fill every bit of the crack or chip. By using a windshield repair bridge, you’re ensuring the resin fills the crack completely for an effective fix. When you use the proper tools, you’ll prevent any crack or chip from spreading in size and causing further damage to your auto glass.

Where Can You Get a Windshield Repair Bridge?

A lot of DIY windshield repair kits come with windshield repair bridges. However, a lot of these devices are not well-made and can sometimes be defective. When you’re attempting an auto glass repair at home, it’s best to invest the extra money into a windshield repair bridge that is designed to provide adequate pressure to effectively fill and seal any cracks or chips. You can find windshield repair bridges at auto stores or online.

How to Use a Windshield Repair Bridge the Right Way

• When using a windshield repair bridge, you must first make sure the area of glass you’re working with is clean and free of debris.
• After you’ve removed excess glass and ensured the area is ready for resin, you must first attach the suctioned end of the device to your windshield, making sure that the bridge is held over the area of the crack or chip you’re trying to fill.
• Then, secure the device to the glass and lower the bridge to the crack while leveling the device. After you’re secure and level, inject and plunge the resin into the glass.
• Depending on what type of bridge you’re using, you may have to apply pressure and/or vacuum for a period of time before the repair is complete.

What Happens if You Use a Windshield Repair Bridge Incorrectly

If you fail to use a windshield repair bridge in compliance with the instructions provided, you could cause further damage to the crack or chip or worse, damage your windshield entirely. Without proper leveling, sealing, or pressure, you could run into serious problems with your repair. Windshield repair bridges can be very effective if used the right way, so if you’re looking for a tool that will aid in windshield repair, make sure you’re following the directions carefully to avoid additional problems.

American Windshield Repair Bridges

Our windshield repair bridges are designed to be fully functional and simple to use. Our devices are also designed to be used on virtually any windshield and are built to last a lifetime. With the maximum pressure applied when using our windshield repair bridges, you can ensure you’ll be able to fully fill the crack or chip in your auto glass.

If you have a chip or crack in your windshield and are considering using an automotive glass repair kit to fix it, it’s best to first get a professional’s opinion on these DIY methods and their effectiveness. While DIY methods are hardly substitute to an auto glass specialist, they sometimes can give you temporary relief from cracks that are distracting and annoying. To save you time and effort while you shop, here are our professional views on how to use windshield repair kit.

Pay Attention to Specifications When Buying

Like there are many types of cracks and chips that can affect your windshield, there are also many professional windshield crack repair kits to fix the issue. When looking for the right solution, make sure you pay close attention to the type of crack the kit fixes, what tools are included, what type of resin you’ll be using, and if there are any particular environmental conditions you should consider.

Only Use Professional, Name Brand Kits

When it comes to automotive glass repair kits, cheaper isn’t always better. Only use a windshield repair kit that is distributed by a reputable brand and sold by an auto repair shop. Budget windshield repair kits don’t use high-quality resin and often don’t include all of the tools necessary to fix your auto glass. Choosing a cheap kit could result in additional damage to your windshield.

Steps for Using Windshield Repair Kits

Follow all of the steps when using your automotive glass repair kit. Skipping steps or not following them in order can cause the repair to fail or, worse, create extensive damage to your windshield.

• Step 1 – Make sure you read the instructions thoroughly before beginning the repair. While the general idea behind repair is the same, different kits require different steps.
• Step 2 – Check to see if the professional windshield crack repair kit includes all of the tools you need. Most kits include tools to remove broken glass, resin, a tool to inject resin into the crack, and a tool for curing. If you’re unsure about what should be included in the kit, there should be a guide in the instructions.
• Step 3 – Start the repair by using the tool provided or a razor to scrape glass and debris from the crack.
• Step 4 – Fill the crack with resin, making sure that no air bubbles get into the crack.
• Step 5 – After there is enough resin the fill the crack, place a curing strip on top and leave the windshield to dry.
• Step 6 – Once the resin has dried, use the razor again to scrape the excess off of the windshield.

Important Points to Remember

It’s important that you never try to use windshield repair kits in rainy or high-moisture conditions or the resin won’t set properly and could cause issues in the process. It’s best to use automotive glass repair kits in dry, warm, and sunny weather to allow the resin to dry completely. Also, if you repair your windshield in a garage and it starts to rain, wait a couple hours before driving and exposing the auto glass to wetness.

The Bottom Line

When it comes down to it, the professional view on how to use windshield repair kits is to avoid them. No amount of research or money spent at the auto parts store can stand in for a trained professional. If you’re looking for a cheap way to keep your windshield crack or chip from spreading, automotive glass repair kits may prevent further damage. However, it’s important to make sure you visit a repair shop to get damage fixed as soon as possible.

If you’ve ever done a windshield repair at home, you know that it can sometimes be a pain to wait for the resin to dry. If you don’t wait long enough, you can cause additional cracks or chips in your windshield, not to mention annoying bubbles that may appear within the resin. As more and more people opt to do repairs at home instead of heading to the shop, companies have created easier alternatives to what were once costly and time consuming products.

About UV Resin

UV light curing repair resin is a material used to fix cracks and chips in windshields that uses UV radiation to set. As opposed to some resins that can take hours to dry even in direct sunlight, these materials shorten repair time and can reduce certain costs. While traditional resin may need hours to set, UV light curing repair resin can set in a matter of minutes.

How to Cure UV Resin

When using UV light curing repair resin, it’s important to ensure you’re using the right curing process to avoid further damage. A lot of factors can contribute to resin cure time, even if you’re using UV resin. Outside moisture, sunlight, and temperature are just a couple factors you can consider.

If you’re using UV resin on a sunny summer day, you shouldn’t have to worry too much about environmental factors affecting the time it takes to cure the resin. Working in adequate sunlight should do the job because the UV rays emitted from the sun are able to cure the resin alone. However, if it’s a cloudy day, you might need the help of UV lamp ultraviolet light.

UV Lights and UV Resin

If you aren’t fortunate enough to have plenty of sun when you decide to repair your windshield, you can use the rays from UV blacklights to cure just as fast. These lights emit UV rays similar to those of the sun, curing windshield repair resin quickly and efficiently. You can also use UV lamp ultraviolet light if you’re short on time and need a crack or chip fixed as quickly as possible. These lights can sometimes cut curing time to under a minute.

Benefits of UV Resin

When using UV light curing windshield repair resin, you’re not only giving yourself a faster repair time, you’re often using stronger materials to create a tighter bond. This ensures that your windshield repair will last and won’t spider or grow as soon as you hit a pothole.

What to Watch for When Buying UV Blacklights

When you’re purchasing UV lamps with ultraviolet light, it’s just as important to pay attention to specs as when you’re buying professional windshield repair kit. These lights have a tendency to run a little on the expensive side, but when you’re able to cut curing time by 75 percent they’ll definitely be worth it in the long run. Here are a couple features you’re going to want to have when buying UV blacklights:

• Suction cup – holds the light to the window during repair
• Cordless or battery operated – allows you to make repairs on the go without electrical connection
• Cure time – depending on how much time you can devote to repair, a device with shorter cure time would be more optimal
• Voltage – determines how strong the UV light will be

Conclusion – Curing UV Resin without Sun

At the end of the day, it’s always smarter to see a professional auto glass mechanic before you try to repair your windshield yourself. However, if you’re looking for a faster, more efficient way to cure resin in any condition, UV resin with UV blacklight is the way to go. You’ll end up with a stronger repair in nearly half the time.

With the rising cost and time associated with visiting an auto glass repair shop, many car owners are looking to home glass repair kits and accessories as a cost-effective and time-saving solution. Because there are so many kits on the market, we’ve compiled a list of what to consider when buying auto glass repair kits and accessories.

Before You Buy

When buying auto glass repair kits and accessories, there are several points to consider so you can make the purchase that will fix your crack or chip most effectively. Don’t settle for the cheapest, most minimalistic kit on the market, because you could end up paying more money in the long run if you cause additional damage to your auto glass.

Think About the Type of Repair You Need

The windshield repair accessories you should buy depends on the type of crack or chip you’re trying to repair. In addition to a visible crack or scratch, your chip may take the form of a flower, star, or bull’s eye. Pay attention to what the damage looks like when shopping for auto glass repair kits and accessories. It might even help to take a picture because some kits provide visuals of the types of damage they cover on the packaging.

Consider if a DIY Method is Best

While home auto glass repair kits and accessories won’t burn too much of a hole in your pocket, you first need to think about if purchasing one would even be worth it. Most kits only repair damage up to six inches and won’t suffice if your crack or chip is so extensive you need a full windshield replacement. If you’re unsure if windshield repair accessories will even fix the damage at all, it’s best to take it to an auto repair shop to be safe.

Pay Attention to Resin Quality

Most resin in windshield repair accessories is designed to dry quickly in warm, dry conditions and blend in naturally with the rest of the glass in your windshield. Pay attention to the color of the resin and how well it dries on a scrap piece of glass to ensure its quality. If it doesn’t dry transparent or is slow to set in the right weather conditions, consider purchasing a different kit.

The More Windshield Repair Accessories the Better

When you’re shopping around for glass repair kits and accessories, you may notice a couple of items consistent in every package. These accessories are essential for repairing cracks or chips in your windshield the right way to prevent further damage. Most kits include:

• Glass resin
• Injector
• Bridge
• Razor
• Instructions

When you buy glass repair kits and accessories, make sure that all parts of the kit are present and there is an instruction manual available. Skipping over any part in the repair process or not following the instructions could result in additional damage to your windshield.

After Purchase

Once you’ve purchased the glass repair kits and accessories you think will fix your windshield the best, test it on scrap glass just to be sure of its quality. You wouldn’t want to realize you’ve bought a subpar kit after applying it to you windshield and realizing the resin won’t blend in with the glass!

Benefits of At-Home Glass Repair Kits and Accessories

DIY windshield repair accessories are desirable because you can fix the problem on your own time, often without the high cost most windshield repair companies charge to do the same thing. Remember though, with every home method comes its risks, and fixing a cracked windshield at home is no alternative for a shop visit for serious cracks and chips.

When it comes to executing a perfect windshield crack repair job, there is one windshield repair accessory that you can’t live without. This accessory is called a “crack spreader.”

This tool’s name might lead you to scratch your head when you first hear it, because the thought of spreading a windshield crack to make it bigger than it was before seems totally counterproductive, right?

Why would any windshield repair technician need a tool that makes a windshield crack bigger?

Well, despite the fact that a crack spreader might not sound like a necessary tool, an expert windshield repair technician knows otherwise.

Why Use a Crack Spreader? 

When you are faced with a repair job that involves a pretty long crack (say, 6 inches), it can be difficult to evenly and thoroughly inject windshield crack repair resin into the entire crack.

Since evenly and thoroughly injecting windshield crack repair resin is the key to a perfect repair job, this poses quite a problem for a windshield repair technician!

This dilemma led to the creation of the crack spreader.

So, how does the crack spreader enable a windshield repair technician to perfectly repair a long windshield crack?

By affixing the crack spreader to the inside of the windshield and using it to apply pressure to the windshield that gently spreads the windshield crack a little further open, the crack spreader makes it easier to inject windshield repair resin along the full length of the crack.

It is essential that windshield repair resin be injected evenly and thoroughly into a windshield chip or crack in order to produce a clean repair.

If windshield repair resin is injected unevenly or the chip or crack isn’t completely filled with resin, the repair will be flawed and you’ll have an unhappy customer to deal with.

Without the use of a crack spreader, the area of the windshield where you attempted to repair the chip or crack might be cloudy, distorted, or have visible air bubbles hardened in the resin. No thank you!

Where to Purchase a Crack Spreader 

If you’re ready to take your windshield repair game to the next level, then you need to equip yourself with a high-quality crack spreader to help you repair longer cracks.

You have a choice when it comes to crack spreader, but only one choice is the right choice.

Visit American Windshield Repair Systems online to purchase your crack spreader for just $25.00! (before tax, shipping, and handling)

This is not only one of the lowest prices you’ll find, it’s also the best crack spreader available! Can’t beat that!

Windshield Repair Accessories 

American Windshield Repair Systems also sells a wide selection of other essential windshield repair accessories. When you’re shopping for your crack spreader, take a moment to check out the other top quality products for sale at www.windshieldrepairkits.com.

The success of your windshield repair business relies heavily on the quality of your materials, tools, and supplies. American Windshield Repair Systems can always provide you with the best of the best.

Make American Windshield Repair Systems your one-stop shop for all windshield repair accessories, including a crack spreader!

Will There Still Be Damage After a Windshield Crack is Repaired?

If you are thinking about getting into the windshield repair industry, you’ll need to prepare yourself to answer the questions that your potential clients will invariably have for you.

Naturally, potential clients will need to know how much a repair will cost, how long it will take, whether you can repair on site of if they’ll need to turn over possession of their vehicle to you while you’re performing the repair. These are the easy questions to answer.

Potential clients will also undoubtedly ask you if your windshield repair kit will be able to totally and flawlessly repair their chip or crack, or if there will still be lasting evidence of the damage.

Will the repair be perfect?

This question is a little trickier to answer because you want to be truthful with the client, but you also don’t want to deter them from allowing you and your windshield crack repair kit to do the job!

The truth is that in most cases, repairs performed using the best windshield crack repair kit offered by American Windshield Repair Systems will be nearly invisible. However, it’s likely that there will still be some minor cosmetic imperfections where the repair was performed.

Minor Cosmetic Imperfections

You will need to be well-versed on the capabilities of your cracked windshield repair kit when discussing the potential for persisting damage with clients. It’s important not to leave them with the impression that they won’t see any sign of the damage after the repair is performed, but you also want to give them realistic expectations for the extent of the persisting damage.

With this in mind, what exactly do we mean when we say it’s likely that there will still be some minor cosmetic imperfections where the repair was performed?

There may be some slight discoloration, unevenness of the windshield’s surface, or mistiness in the glass on the spot where the windshield crack repair resin has cured.

Best Windshield Crack Repair Kit

When you choose to purchase your windscreen crack repair kit from American Windshield Repair Systems, you’re providing yourself and your customers with the highest quality repair.

We offer the tools, supplies, and materials that you need to minimize persisting damage in the location of a crack or chip repair.

While it’s usually not possible to achieve a totally flawless repair, we provide you with a cracked windshield repair kit that will perform repairs that are close to flawless every time.

With the best windshield crack repair kit in your possession, the quality of your repairs will never be topped by the competition!

American Windshield Repair Systems

Set yourself up for success by purchasing a windscreen crack repair kit from American Windshield Repair Systems. Our kits are carefully designed to be affordable, user-friendly, high quality, and reliable for every single repair job.

Windshield repair technicians strike gold when they opt to buy a cracked windshield repair kit from American Windshield Repair Systems. Check out our kits so you can strike gold today, too!