best windscreen bonding glue?

[david151]

I'm about to replace my first ever car windscreen and have a second hand one to go in. With this is mind I was wondering what the best bonding glue is? This one has sold a lot of units:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WINDSCREEN-WINDOW-BONDIN...

But how good is it, as I don't see any reviews. There are hardly any reviews on amazon for any of the bonding products, so really don't know what make is best. So any recommendations would be welcome.

[steveo3002]

ive used thier stuff with no problems

one tip- stand that tube in hot water for a while so it will flow out the tip

[HustleRussell]

Mine was put in with this stuff. Glass fitter swears by it.

[Glassman]

david151 said:

any recommendations would be welcome.

The product in the link comes out of the tube black and sticky. It's aimed at the DIYer.

As for putting it in hot water to aide extrusion, make sure you do the same to both contact surfaces and bring them both up to the same temperature.

If you're asking for advice: get a pro to do it. It's an obvious suggestion from someone like me but I'm offering you the benefit of three decades of experience. There's a lot more to bonding in a windscreen than merely squirting out the contents of tube of PUR.

[Mignon]

My advice is don't even bother trying. Find a windscreen place, ask if any of the guys want to do a homer for cash one weekend or just pay through proper channels and get a warranty. Without the right gear and training you'll either scratch the windscreen or the car paint or it'll leak. With all those it's a 30 minute job. Without them you'll bugger about for hours and still not get it right. A man's gotta know his limitations.

[paintman]

Must admit I agree with Glassman & Mignon.
I do almost all the repairs/servicing to our own cars incl welding & I SMART repair professionally.
Windscreens - even non-bonded - I leave to the pros.

[Mignon]

I bought a car off mate earlier this year. It had a scratched windscreen but there was a new OE one ready to fit and one of my mate's friends is a windscreen fitter who owes him a few favours so fitting it was part of the deal. He came round a few weeks later and did the job on my drive. Very interesting to watch. Electric sealant dispenser for a perfect bead with the right stuff in the tank, special glass cleaner to ensure a good bond, rubber sucker things for handling the glass so you don't have to touch the edges after they're clean. I can do most things mechanical but I wouldn't have touched that job for love nor money. I don't have the equipment or the experience. You need too much of both to make it worthwhile trying that job yourself.

[Glassman]

Mignon said:

I bought a car off mate earlier this year. It had a scratched windscreen but there was a new OE one ready to fit and one of my mate's friends is a windscreen fitter who owes him a few favours so fitting it was part of the deal. He came round a few weeks later and did the job on my drive. Very interesting to watch. Electric sealant dispenser for a perfect bead with the right stuff in the tank, special glass cleaner to ensure a good bond, rubber sucker things for handling the glass so you don't have to touch the edges after they're clean. I can do most things mechanical but I wouldn't have touched that job for love nor money. I don't have the equipment or the experience. You need too much of both to make it worthwhile trying that job yourself.

Let the baker bake your bread

[KungFuPanda]

It's like window tinting. The pros make it look like a piece of piss until you try it.

[imagineifyeswill]

Ive been a mechanic for 41 years, fitted many a windscreen with rubber seal no problem, I fitted one bonded screen to my own car, never again leave it to a screen fitter.

[Mr2Mike]

imagineifyeswill said:

Ive been a mechanic for 41 years, fitted many a windscreen with rubber seal no problem, I fitted one bonded screen to my own car, never again leave it to a screen fitter.

This. Windscreens with rubber seals are a perfectly feasible DIY proposition, though can be a PITA sometimes. I'd never try to bond my own windscreen in on any car I cared about.

[david151]

Mr2Mike said:

This. Windscreens with rubber seals are a perfectly feasible DIY proposition, though can be a PITA sometimes. I'd never try to bond my own windscreen in on any car I cared about.

I must be missing something guys, as I don't see it as an impossible task. Yes you have to run a good bead, but what other difficulties are there? I'm a plumber by trade, so I should be able to use a Caulking Gun! Am I being naive about this?

Also I just got the windscreen out today. I tried this cheap cold knife off Amazon, which was rubbish. I threw it in the bin and just smashed the windscreen. I put old sheets either side, which caught all the glass. I then threw these in the bin and the cleanup was minimal. Much easier than trying to cut it out (took me no more than 3 minutes). I then got a Stanley knife and trimmed all the old Polyurethane around the frame so it's all nice and even. Now just waiting for the windscreen surround to arrive. Plus I forgot to mention that I purchased the bonding I originally looked at. It comes with the primer and everything that I will need.

So now I have to decide if I am to ring a professional to run the bead of bonding round the frame? What did you guys find so difficult about it? What went wrong?

[Glassman]

david151 said:

I must be missing something guys, as I don't see it as an impossible task. Yes you have to run a good bead, but what other difficulties are there? I'm a plumber by trade, so I should be able to use a Caulking Gun! Am I being naive about this?

Also I just got the windscreen out today. I tried this cheap cold knife off Amazon, which was rubbish. I threw it in the bin and just smashed the windscreen. I put old sheets either side, which caught all the glass. I then threw these in the bin and the cleanup was minimal. Much easier than trying to cut it out (took me no more than 3 minutes). I then got a Stanley knife and trimmed all the old Polyurethane around the frame so it's all nice and even. Now just waiting for the windscreen surround to arrive. Plus I forgot to mention that I purchased the bonding I originally looked at. It comes with the primer and everything that I will need.

So now I have to decide if I am to ring a professional to run the bead of bonding round the frame? What did you guys find so difficult about it? What went wrong?

You can't be knocked for effort and application, and it seems like you'll get most of the job done without any issues.

Nobody really said it was an impossible task, but the inference was more towards the end product being a fitted windscreen which doesn't leak. There are some finer details in the process which, if missed, will open an episode of problems. In the main, it's like with plumbing, a lot of the tasks seem quite easy and I'm sure anyone handy with the tools can accomplish. But having experience and expertise means you know where all the potential pitfalls are and more importantly, how to avoid them.

Such as:

1. cutting out the screen without smashing it so that it does not become hazardous to handle;

2. removing the cured PUR without damage to the paintwork;

3. ensuring both contact surfaces/substrates are prepared correctly for bonding;

4. decontaminating the substrate (especially the glass) with an appropriate agent (not to be confused with degreasing processes)

5. use (or not) of primer (black primer over cured PUR can lead to adhesion problems;

6. how to 'activate' cured PUR;

7. extrusion of fresh PUR (correct bead height, and how to ensure adequate decking of compressed bead)

8. butting of join(s).


If it looks easy, it usually isn't, as the saying goes