DIY Windshiled Repair?

Has anyone had luck with do it your self windshield repair kits?

I have a small crack on my windshield that is less than the size of a dime and I'd like to fix it rather than replace the whole window if I can.

That's more of a star than a bullseye, but if you get the repair kit from any parts store, it will make it look maybe 50% better and keep the crack from running. Fix it sooner rather than later.

Or pay somebody. It's not as cheap as the kit, but they'll do a better job.

can't hurt to see what it would cost to get it fixed

I paid $10 or so for the HF kit (relabeled permatex BTW. Still says permatex on the vial) a few years ago. I did the prep and syringe vacuum thing exactly as the directions stated and let it draw in the repair goo for a good long time while I walked the dogs.

It worked really well. The only reason you can see the repair is because the damage was 20 years old and dirt had managed to get inside the star. It was almost 4 years ago and it still looks exactly the same and the crack stopped spreading.

That said the next week they had signs up at the glass shop for chip repairs for $18. Had I known I would have just had them do it. If I did that well my first time I imagine someone with a few hundred under their belt could have done even better.

I had luck with the permatex kit. I followed the directions to the T, weather was cooperative, I believe it was 65 when I did it and the chip was less than a week old. I was generous with the epoxy and patient.

It is notable, it appears like a white dot, but it is smooth and no longer looks like a bulls-eye. All I really care is that it did not spread, and for that it has worked for the last 4 months with plenty of frost-defrost cycles.

To be fair; the instructions say to let it cure in sunlight for "UV," I have a UV lamp I use for erasing eprom's (car computer chips from the 80's) which I used to supplement the sun. It may have helped the epoxy to cure better.

It does take allot of patients, I was doing something else so I didn't mind the "breaks" to go check on the car.

I used the permatex kit too. Chip was pretty fresh, less than a month old. I made sure to follow the directions exactly, and it came out OK. You could still see the spot where the chip was, but it was MUCH better, and the chip never spread, which was my main concern.