It still surprises me the number of people that call when it’s raining and expect to have their windshield repaired. Yes, some actually don’t see a problem with me standing in a driving rain to accomplish the repair. Over the years I’ve seen many a failed repair due to water contamination. Pulling a car in out of the rain means very little to me because I’ve found in most instances you can’t get a chip full of water 100% dry.
Many don’t apply logic in that if you repair a chip that is full of water, it most likely will fail. While waiting to repair the damage until it dries may result in a cracked windshield, by taking some precautions and waiting for better weather can result in a successful repair.
A case in point, I have a customer that saw the rain coming and covered 2 chips by placing clear packing tape over them on the outside of the windshield. They didn’t have a covered area to work, and twice I tried to perform a repair only to be rained out.
After approximately 2 weeks, the sun came out; I pulled the tape off to reveal a set of dry, clean chips that repaired perfectly. By covering a chip that is dry with clear packing tape, the vehicle can be pulled into a covered area during rain or snow and repaired.
Just remember to be careful when using your defroster, and avoid vibrations like slamming doors, etc. when you have a chip on your windshield.
