Repairing Windshield Crack

[nanu.007]

Hi,

We had a regular service on 20th March. The car was not used and then lockdown happened. Yesterday finally went to the parking lot to take some documents kept in it. When was covering the car with the cover saw this

http://www.upl.co/uploads/IMG202004192053001587382352.jpg

http://www.upl.co/uploads/IMG202004192052231587382335.jpg

While it looks like a stone chip I have high doubts that the dealership caused this, maybe not intentionally, because they are notorious for doing these types of things. Once they swapped a battery from a customer's car with an old one. Two days after service it stopped working. That customer had noted the serial number of the same in service book so as soon as they got a letter from his lawyer they apologized, gave him a new battery and one year of additional warranty just hours after receiving the letter. The other time they took they display unit out from a customer's car and replaced from some old car. The software version proved it later on. They have been in news for their cheats many times. They just care about customer's money. They will prove that the engine is going to stop working if they want to. If anyone wishes to know their name then they can pm me. It didn't happen in the parking lot as all vehicles in our area are covered with a car cloth. I even checked the recording from society, except the security guard no one came to that place. Anyways now even if after the lockdown I pressurize them to show me the video, either they might say that they don't have that old recording or chances are that this thing might not be visible from the recordings. Should I pursue this? Because they are such crooks I will always have a doubt on them.

If the stone chip had caused this, then the driver would have known right? But only two people drive this vehicle and we both didn't notice it. The inside damage is too big for a stone chip to be the reason of it.

Replacement of the same is expensive and someone said that it is not covered under insurance, is that so?

Is repair possible at home? I found most of the videos using products like these

For the first product there is no reputed company which is selling the same just local made one's. For the second one Rain-X is selling it.
Are these recommended?
Has anyone used these types of products here, link to that thread please?
Will these repair the crack from the inside too?
Most importantly what should be done so that the crack does not expand due to temperature as receiving products will take time? This is the main thing now.
@CRACING @Nairrk

 

[deville_56]

Chipping is repairable to some extent, but can crack again due to stress/vibration. Better replace the glass. Obviously, glass is covered under insurance. You can approach your regular SVC/garage who does insurance claims or experts like the Windshield Experts if they are available in your town. Cousin's Baleno developed crack and it was replaced by WE at rates cheaper than quoted by Nexa. Had to pay some out-of-pocket for consumables like glue and processing fees. WE also repairs cracks.

 

[nanu.007]

Chipping is repairable to some extent, but can crack again due to stress/vibration. Better replace the glass. Obviously, glass is covered under insurance. You can approach your regular SVC/garage who does insurance claims or experts like the Windshield Experts if they are available in your town. Cousin's Baleno developed crack and it was replaced by WE at rates cheaper than quoted by Nexa. Had to pay some out-of-pocket for consumables like glue and processing fees. WE also (used to) repairs crack.

Any rough estimate for the windshield cost of octavia's shield?
Those youtube videos says that after the process it never cracked.

 

[deville_56]

Any rough estimate for the windshield cost of octavia's shield?
Those youtube videos says that after the process it never cracked.

No idea of the glass price, but max 2-3k out-of-pocket. Windshield Experts does this crack repair as well. Saw it in some old auto show on some TV channel many years ago. That's how I came to know about them. Recommended to cousin and they replaced the glass and did some body work as well in single insurance claim. You can check your nearest outlet on their website and they can provide estimates for repair/replacement with and without insurance claims.

 

[nanu.007]

No idea of the glass price, but max 2-3k out-of-pocket. Windshield Experts does this crack repair as well. Saw it in some old auto show on some TV channel many years ago. That's how I came to know about them. Recommended to cousin and they replaced the glass and did some body work as well in single insurance claim. You can check your nearest outlet on their website and they can provide estimates for repair/replacement with and without insurance claims.

Thanks. Do they have original oem parts?

 

[deville_56]

Thanks. Do they have original oem parts?

They quoted us with OEM as well as Saint-Gobain and another brand. There was price difference with OE glass. But I think the choice depends on availability.

 

[Nairrk]

My opinion also to replace the windshield glass.

The windshield repair shown in that video is from some foreign country and not in India and we don't know with the hot weather conditions in India how long it will work in the long run!

 

[nanu.007]

@Nairrk

Do check the alcohol part

@CRACING @Dr MUDHAN

 

[nanu.007]

Addendum
Is Skoda using Saint Gobain glass in the original windshield?

 

[nanu.007]

I found a seller in our city who can provide me with a repair kit. He told me that the windshield is a 2 piece laminated glass. If both the outside and inside of the windshield are damaged then he recommends to replace the windshield. How to make sure that the inside one is fine? From the inside I cannot feel the crack.

 

[Suryaputhra]

After observing the photographs it is better replace windshield. There are chances of damage by service center guys. When you change the glass try not to remove full windshield sealant up to bare pichweld. Industry's best practice is that 1mm of the old sealant should be left on pinch weld. If any small scratches to pinchweld it should be treated with rapid primer given with sealant(not paint primer). How old is the car. Glass replacement is unfortunately painful to the car as well as to owner. Can you upload long shot images of the area for better assessment. If you want to repair it you must cover it dust moisture and debris should not contaminate it.

 

[nanu.007]

@Nairrk @Suryaputhra @deville_56

Found permatex from a local shop. After buying came to know that it is only helpful for the bulls eye and not for the star/spider shaped one's :(
The chinese one from amazon would have taken a lot of time to be delivered. Anyways the mistakes that I did- 1. While creating a vacuum I was nervous so the injection popped up from the the pedestal while pulling the lever up so I had to fill it again and restart the process, I think because of this less bubbles came out. 2. The temperature was 40 degrees celsius yesterday so the resin under the curing strip became hard after drying out when it was under the sun. When I tried to remove it, resin from the impact also came out. I applied the curing strip again hoping that it might improve the results and set it under the sun again but it was not helpful at all.

Before


After 1st attempt






After the 2nd one with only the curing strip part repeated





What do you think went wrong? Should I try to fill that hole on the outside again with a new product, like Rain-X? Is Rain-X helpful for those star/spider shaped things which I have highlighted? I think there's atleast a drop left in the tube. Should I repeat the curing strip thing and leave it overnight?

 

[deville_56]

I still suggest replacing the windshield. I don't think these things can fix the cracks, only chipping can be taken care of.

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[nanu.007]

I still suggest replacing the windshield. I don't think these things can fix the cracks, only chipping can be taken care of.

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[deville_56]

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