The word “Refracturing,” would be defined as re-breaking of a previously repaired chip. However, I use the term in a different way. I define it as a process in which a chip is made larger to enable you to fix it faster and better. To be more specific, we created a bullseye break at the pit to create a basin for the resin to flow easier to the other legs of the break.
Refracturing is done for a few reasons. For one, it makes a repair faster by evenly distributing the resin and because it doesn’t have to be pressured through the tight recesses of a crack or star type break. The other reason is quality of repair; a half-moon break will repair easier if you cause the half-moon to become a bullseye. To do that, you cause the half-moon to finish breaking and become a bullseye break.
Before refracturing After refracturing
How do you complete a refracturing? First you need practice before doing it on a customer’s vehicle; take an old windshield and practice on surface divets on the glass. It takes a darning needle, larger sewing needle or sharp pick and a weighted tool. I use the handle of a screwdriver or other hand tools. Next, place the pointed tip of the pick or needle into the pit of the break and tap the dull end with the weighted tool until a small bullseye is created under the pit. It may take several tries to get the hang of it but practice makes perfect. Now, fill in the break normally; the bullseye portion you created will disappear and the far reaches of the break will repair faster.
If you wish to make a bullseye break from a half moon, the first thing you must do is check the existing break and make sure that the ends of the moon are pointing inward and not outward. If they are pointing outward, the break will run against the pit instead of finishing the bullseye when the refracturing process is applied. However, if the tips of the half moon are pointing inward, the break will finish the circular bullseye due to the natural circular grain of the glass making a chip easy to repair.
Refracturing is a technique that works, give it a try, you won’t be sorry.
