WIndshield chip repair

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Had a rock chip my windshield, so my insurance company sent out Safelite to patch it for free. After the patching, the chip basically looks the same. According to the Safelite guy, the spider webs will still be present but the patch fills the entry point and prevents further cracking. He said if I'm not happy with the cosmetics, they can always replace the windshield (of course).

I watched some Youtube vids of people using DIY chip repair kits and their results looked much better on chips similar to mine. What gives? Did the Safelite guy halfass the job in the hopes that I'd cave and replace the windshield??
 
Same thing here and I wouldn't use them again. They filled in a chip on the 05 Matrix. The tech said he pushed so hard on it the chip a few tiny cracks developed around the chip. Which weren't there prior. Short, fat guy that kind of laughed about it. Luckily the chip is in the middle but right at the edge of the passenger side, so out of my site line. But of course passengers see it. My nephew always remarks on it. But it hasn't gotten any worse and this was a few years ago. Kind of ticked me off.
 
The windshield in my truck has so many cracks, rock hits etc that it’d be impossible to count them all. Beings as it’s a ruined windshield hardly anything hits it anymore. If I were to replace it I’m sure it’d get 5 rock hits in the first month! There’s a force in the universe that knows where the perfect windshields are and aims for them first.....
 
I've no experience with actually using Safelite, but their commercials absolutely annoy the carp out of me. So I use other companies, LOL. Maybe have another glass company take a look at it and get their opinion? Seems to me, that a chip should be much less noticeable after filling it.
 
I suspect, they did not clean/grind all the crack cleanly.
It also depends on the skill of the person who are doing the repair.
They are probably more trained to change the whole windshield but if they cannot do the chip repair, I probably will not let them change my windshield. IMO.
 
I have no experience with the folks you had try to fix your windshield, but I have done the DIY fixes before, and the key to success with that method is the type of crack you’re looking to repair. It has to be a bullseye type of crack, otherwise the DIY method does not work.

I suspect the same holds true for even the pros, so if your crack is not a bullseye type, they probably had little chance of success going into it.
 
I got a rain-x chip repair kit at wally world last weekend for about 10.00. I repaired about 3 dime size chips with that one kit and am very
pleased with the results. I would do it again in a minute. I have Geico and they mentioned safelite but they wanted to charge me 100.00. No thanks...
 
I don't buy that explanation. If you can still see the cracks, they still have air in them. The safety glass has layers of plastic sheet so I've never understood how the resin can get past that on a completely through crack. You'd have to inject from the inside of the windshield as well.

They don't get paid much for these fixes and conversely they will only put so much time and effort into it

A guy with a collector car with correct date coded glass would want them to put some extra effort into it
 
I'm surprised you (and SatinSilver) got that poor a level of service from Safelite. I have used them for years, and have always had an amazingly high level of quality service. Maybe they just had a bad batch of new hires.

OP - I'd have them come back out and do it right.
 
Whenever I get a starburst chip, (the kind that can be filled), I just take the heel of my hand and give the windshield a good solid rap where the chip is from the inside. That will put a good 4" or longer crack in it. Sometimes several. That way it will be replaced and not "repaired" with glue.

Every person I know that has had their windshield "repaired", has ended up having it replaced within a few months, because cracks develop. Especially pickups that are prone to a lot of flexing when they roll over driveway curbs. So I basically finish the job the stone started. That way the job gets done right the first time.
 
I had a local place do a repair on my windshield on the rental Escape. It cost me $75 but they did it the next day and while he remarked that "it was a difficult repair" it came out awesome and it's been perfectly fine since. I think the skill of the individual performing the repair is the biggest variable.
 
Originally Posted By: kpatter
I got a rain-x chip repair kit at wally world last weekend for about 10.00. I repaired about 3 dime size chips with that one kit and am very
pleased with the results. I would do it again in a minute. I have Geico and they mentioned safelite but they wanted to charge me 100.00. No thanks...


I got a chip while driving from SW Florida to NY on Rt.4 near Orlando last year...I stopped in Walmart and bought that Rain-X repair kit and applied it the next morning at my hotel parking lot in South Carolina (following the directions precisely). A year and a half later it's still fine (I was lucky that there was no spidering).

I highly recommend that Rain-X kit...
 
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