Windshield repair kits?

[Homerboy]

I have a 3" crack starting in the upper driver side corner of my windshield. It's an old '07 Honda Odyssey that we use a secondary car (rarely driven) so I'd prefer not to spend too much in replacing the whole glass.

Has anyone ever used any of these windshield repair kits? If so, how easy/foolproof and how effective are they?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I have a 3" crack starting in the upper driver side corner of my windshield. It's an old '07 Honda Odyssey that we use a secondary car (rarely driven) so I'd prefer not to spend too much in replacing the whole glass.

Has anyone ever used any of these windshield repair kits? If so, how easy/foolproof and how effective are they?

All the repair kits I've seen are intended for chips. I don't know they'd be effective for a three inch crack.

 

[Homerboy]

All the repair kits I've seen are intended for chips. I don't know they'd be effective for a three inch crack.

Hmm... Most kits I see list chips and cracks.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Hmm... Most kits I see list chips and cracks.

It's worth a try.

 

[jlee]

http://www.carwindshields.info/is-your-windshield-repairable

Apparently they can repair up to 18" these days..I did not expect that.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Get $0-deductible auto glass on the insurance and follow around some dump trucks until it's not insurance fraud anymore.

 

[Tormac]

I have used them to fix chips, and they work well for that. I have not used one to fix cracks like that, but I can see them working.

There are many good youtube videos explaining how they work. Watch a couple of those, and then give it a try. From personal experience the thing to focus on is be sure that the area around the chip or crack is very very very clean. Clean it until you are sure it is perfect, and then clean it again.

The kits run less than $20 around where I live. It is worth a try.

 

[fr]

I have a 3" crack starting in the upper driver side corner of my windshield. It's an old '07 Honda Odyssey that we use a secondary car (rarely driven) so I'd prefer not to spend too much in replacing the whole glass.

Has anyone ever used any of these windshield repair kits? If so, how easy/foolproof and how effective are they?

I've used the RainX one ($10 at Wal-Mart) and it lessened the appearance of the crack and stopped it from growing, but was unable to hide it. I ended up replacing the windshield a few months later. The glare when the sun hits the crack was annoying and it was still obvious that I had a cracked windshield from the outside.

Like others said, make sure it's clean and fill the crack with resin. Put gentle pressure along the crack both inside and outside to make sure there's no air trapped underneath.

 

[pcgeek11]

The only sure way to stop a crack from spreading is to drill the ends, then use the glue / filler and a vacuum to pull it into the crack/chip.

That being said if the chip or crack is old there are contaminates in the chip / crack this will effect the bond.

 

[Homerboy]

I purchased one off amazon earlier this week. Will give a run at it this weekend and report back in. I don't care about the appearance at all. This is our old (near) beater car and I just don't want the crack to spread. It doesn't affect vision or anything - its WAY up in the corner