HRW element repair

[StuBeeDoo]

I hate dealer stickers in the rear window with a passion!  >:( Somewhere down the line of owners, they get peeled off and take bits of the HRW elements with them.  I can't remember owning a car that didn't have at least one dead element, and my current F25 is no exception - it's got 2.  Up 'til now I've never been too bothered because of the age/general condition of the cars, but I want to keep the F25 as up-together as possible. 

I've known for years that there are paints available that claim to repair broken elements.  Do they actually work?  If so, any recommendations as to brands please?  I can find plenty on the 'net, but as ever I don't like buying without reading proper real-world experiences.

TIA, Stuart.

[X5Sport]

You need a silver loaded paint.  You can buy it from RS Components, Farnell etc.  It is also used for repairing PCB tracks.  It isn’t cheap (well it does contain silver after all).

It does work, but use a very fine paintbrush or something like these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Power-TEC-9145 ... aint+brush

to apply it.

An alternative might be very fine copper track tape.  Not sure where to buy it now Maplin’s have gone.

[pcdee]

Have a go at this;

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/paints-body-repair/adhesives/granville-rear-heater-repair

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[StuBeeDoo]

I ended-up buying this.  I've had 3 goes at it now, all fails. 

My hobby is slot car racing, and we use self-adhesive copper tape on the track (see X5Sport's suggestion, above).  I'm going to see if I can effect a repair to the HRW with a couple of pieces of tape.  Nothing to lose, have I?

[X5Sport]

Is is that the lacquer, or oxidisation over the element material is preventing a contact circuit forming?

You could try a very gentle rub with something like an ear bud (Qtip) with a fine polish in it might help to clean the surfaces.  I’m just trying to think of something gentle that will clear any oxides etc and give you enough ‘good metal’ to get a circuit bond.

No you have nothing to lose 

The HRW on my X6 delaminated from the glass during its first year and BMW replaced it, but that is expensive unless for some reason the glass breaks  O:-)

[StuBeeDoo]

Is is that the lacquer, or oxidisation over the element material is preventing a contact circuit forming?

It could be that I haven't cleaned it well enough, I suppose.  But I did give it several wipes with meths on a lint-free cloth, then used my heat gun to warm the glass/evaporate any meths left.

The HRW on my X6 delaminated from the glass during its first year and BMW replaced it, but that is expensive unless for some reason the glass breaks  O:-)

An "accident" was a possibility I did think about.  But I've already had to put one claim in this year.......

[StuBeeDoo]

UPDATE:- I had another go at repairing the 2 broken lines last week.

This time, I wiped the area with methylated spirit on a microfibre cloth, left it to dry, waited 10(ish) minutes, then wiped it again with a clean dry microfibre. I used 6mm masking tape (Tamiya, from my model-making stock) along both sides of both broken areas of the element, pressed into place (when I was as happy as I could be with the placement) with the clean dry microfibre. Then I painted-on 5 coats of the RS silver paint at 20 minute intervals, using a very fine (flat, 3mm) modelling paintbrush. I left the masking in place for a little over 24hrs, then very gently peeled it away. I didn't check for continuity at that point in time because I wanted to leave the paint to cure for as long as possible first. But shining a light behind the glass while looking through the other side, my repair appeared to be properly opaque.

Last night, I came out of work and the inside of the car was misted-up. I switched-on the HRW and all the elements worked!

It would appear that care & patience is the key when doing this repair, and normally I don't have much of either. All that remains now is to see how long the repair holds-up.

I still haven't properly cleaned the inside of the window, though.............

[Leslie]

Good work mine doesn't work at all but never looked into it to see whats up .

[StuBeeDoo]

mine doesn't work at all but never looked into it to see whats up

My E30 was like that. I got as far as checking for live feed, and that it was earthing OK. I couldn't see any obvious scratches down the glass. Before I got 'round to going deeper into it I discovered that the car had terminal rot, so I didn't bother.