More on (Chip in house window). Using Superglue

[john curzon]

My previous Post on Nov 29 (Circular chip in double glazed window ) left me confused because of some of the different suggestions. I then bought a rainex car windscreen repair kit; but then decided this was not the way to go in this case. Mainly because the circular shaped damage (about 1.5 cm dia, a suspected air gun pellet ) has only penetrated the outer pane of the double glazed house window to the extent of leaving a tiny one or two millimeter hole in the outer pane. Have now bought a tube of Locktite glass glue. I have never used superglue before so would welcome any comments on this following course of action please. Which is to put a small drop at the top of the damage outside hoping it will run down and block the tiny hole in the outer pane. (Would making this superglue cold with a spell in the fridge make it thicker and so better at blocking the hole ? ). Next put some sellotape tightly stretched on the outside glass up to three quarters or so in height of the damage and then just fill it with the glass superglue using it at room temperature. When set then fill up the rest and stretch Cellotape tightly over the damage. In this chilly weather should i heat up the inner pane from inside the house with a fan heater to dry the air between the panes before applying the superglue? Grateful for any advice in this course of action please. Thanks.

[Andy Burns]

So are you saying it's effectivley a conical hole, 15mm on the outside of the outer pane narrowing to 2mm at the inside of that pane, and you're looking to block the 2mm "tip" first, then fill the whole of the cone with superglue?

I doubt it'll work, superglue likes to seep into cracks and set, not dry as a big blob, have you found a price for a new sealed unit, may not be as bad as you think ...

[Brian Gaff]

I would get some of that strip kind of epoxy stuff that you squish to mix and then press it into the hole and use a knife to roughly level it off. Bit harder in cold damp weather, and unlikely to look very nice either. As the gap between panes will now be just air the pressure will alter with temperature and the barometric pressure so if its not well bonded then it will fall out. I tried this for an old garage rear window I had and it worked, but it was a single glazed pane allowing access to both sides. Those air gun kids are a real pain, since they used to lie on the flat garage roofs half a street away and take pot shots at the back or front of the garages in the vicinity. Police caught them a few times but they were often back again within weeks. Goodness knows what the parents were doing, letting them out with air rifles, you can hardly hide on down your trousers. Brian

[john curzon]

You have described the type of damage perfectly thanks. What about just sealing the hole with some other type of glue then filling up with glass superglue ?

[Another Dave]

Try googling super glue and baking soda. I have never tried this but it looks intriguing.

Another Dave

[alan_m]

You will end up with a big white mess rather than a hole :)

[nothanks]

If this hole is all the way through one pane of a double-glazed unit the only sensible answer is to replace the unit. If you try to repair it you will have condensation inside the unit. DG units are not particularly expensive. If the windows are uPVC the beads will pop out (there may be some double-sided tape holding the unit), if hardwood then they will be pinned in place, if puttied then you'll need to remove the putty and the silicone that is probably around the outside of the unit.

[Animal]

Superglue could close the hole so you can epoxy it, but it fails when it gets wet repeatedly, so wouldn't be my choice. Funny how many people think an unsealed unit will mist up. Sometimes they do, mostly not.

[Andrew]

Is this window on the ground floor or above ?. If the latter, are the glazing bars inside or out ?. How large is the affected pane ?.

Depending on the answers to the above, why not remove the pane which should be easy. Just use a flat scraper about an inch wide to push into the gap between frame and bar at the midpoint and give it sharp thump with the palm of your hand. This should unclick the centre of the glazing bar and you can then carefully wiggle it out with the scraper. The other three are then easier to remove.

Then just turn the pane around and refit. The damaged part is now on the inside which means any moisture inside the gap should dissipate. You could just stick a patch of clear tape over the hole or try and fix it with glass repair but TBH a new sealed unit won't cost much if you can fit it yourself.

Even if it is a modern sealed unit with a coating on the inside of the inner pane, reversing it won't result in any significant extra heat loss, while reversing it will keep rain out of the gap which is more important.

[Andy Burns]

The K glass will then do the opposite of what it should ...

[Animal]

A hole on the inside almost guarantees it will mist up in cold weather. Far better to seal the hole.

[Andrew]

Well, maybe. See drop down numbers 5 and 6 on Pilkingtons own FAQ's -

Drop down number 6 says it doesn't actually matter if the K coating is on surface 2 or 3 (the two facing into the cavity).

The window installers urban myth that "it *must* be on surface 3" only relates to the possible optical aberation if it is on surface

2 (or 'back to front').