Windshield Repair “Kits”

[Todd H.]

Interesting, got my first crack at 5 mos and had Safelight repair it for $149.00…in hindsight was a blessing as I’m no longer worried about windshield cracks. Plan is to go at least 5 cracks b4 replacing windshield…but question about the DIY kits how do you pull a vacuum to ensure resin/glue is embedded in crack?

DIY Kits DO use a little vacuum to imbed the resin. I repaired my first rock chip less than a week after purchase. I was thinking I'm going to get good at this but haven't had to repair one since....knock on wood....

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[SWLABRONCO]

Here’s a good video comparing a few kits. For the cost, Permatex or Rain-X seems best:

I bought the Rain-X kit off of Amazon and my son and I fixed a pretty good chip in his Tacoma. Worked great. A small spec is just slightly visible.

 

[Greg2060]

Thanks for everyone's input on this. Just got a rock chip smack dab at eye level on the driver's side. Repair kit here I come!

 

[PrepVet]

Someone at one of the other business units at work has a 2023 Wildtrack and she cracked her third windshield this morning. Oofff. It was just above the wipers and cracked up about a third or so towards the center.

 

[da_jokker]

Sorry.. didn't read all the pages, but I've been repairing my windshield chips in the last 4 cars using this kit

Rain-X Windshield Repair Kit https://a.co/d/hMKzWDd

What makes it unique than most of the others, is that you can use it multiple times. I mean I've repaired several chips with one kit.

Couple weeks ago, I got a really good size chip in my Bronco..... The key is to get this stuff on right away. So soon as I got home I used it.

Now THIS chip was huge, and the impact point took out glass all the way down to the inner layer (that plastic film that keeps the glass together when it shatters). I should have probably used one of those single use needle injector types to make sure I could have gotten fluid on all the cracks, But my faithful Rain-X kit was already in my garage on standby so I used it.

Keep in mind, the goal is to not make the chip completely disappear (It will never completely disappear)... But the goal is to keep your windshield from cracking all the way across and needing replacement.

It's been 3 weeks since that huge chip and it has not spread even though it is still visable.

I'll include a picture of the really bad one, and I'll also give you a picture of a small one that I had gotten couple months ago right near the edge of the glass that also never spread because I jumped on it with the Rain-X.

 

[BrianH]

I’ve had the ExoShield (and a hood deflector) since the first week I brought my Bronco home (June 2023). It has worked well in my opinion and the combination has saved my windshield, so far. I’ve got about 10k miles on her in the past 9 months, mostly highway driving/commuting to work. If you study the Exoshield, there’s probably at least 6+ surface blemishes that would have been a rock chip, had it not been there. I plan on replacing it most likely on a yearly basis, depending on how many and where the surface scars appear. Think of it like a screen protector on your phone. Once you get tired of looking at the scuffs, you’ll have to replace it, but it saves the actual surface of the glass.
Overall, the install was easy to moderately challenging (a second person is key!) and I’d recommend. I feel it was worth the $200.

$200 is a great price - I paid $450 and not too big of a deal in the difference until you start adding it up for a new install every 2 years as they recommend.

 

[Todd H.]

DIY Kits DO use a little vacuum to imbed the resin. I repaired my first rock chip less than a week after purchase. I was thinking I'm going to get good at this but haven't had to repair one since....knock on wood....

...And a week after this post, I repaired my second rock chip..... at some point the entire windshield will be repair resin.....

 

[Danielims]

I've used a few from https://klifex.com/, and while none were perfect, they did the job adequately. Permatex and Rain-X are commonly available brands that offer affordable options. Keep in mind that achieving a perfect result might be challenging, but these kits can prevent the damage from spreading and improve visibility.

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