Permatex Windshield Repair Kit Review: Fix the Chip Before It Spreads

A permatex windshield repair kit is the small box that stands between a stone chip and a new windshield. A stone flicked up on the highway leaves a bullseye or a star in the glass, and left alone the chip spreads: heat, cold, and every bump work the crack longer until the whole windshield needs replacing. This permatex windshield repair kit review covers the 09103 kit — what is in the box, which chips it can fix, how the repair works, and where DIY stops and a professional takes over.

The short answer: if the damage is a bullseye or star smaller than 1¼ inches and it sits outside your direct line of sight, the 09103 kit is the right buy. It injects clear resin into the chip, seals it air-tight, and cures in sunlight. If the crack is long, at the edge of the glass, or right in front of the driver, skip the kit and get a professional opinion instead.

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Quick Pick: Permatex Windshield Repair Kit

What a Permatex Windshield Repair Kit Is

A permatex windshield repair kit is a do-it-yourself resin kit for laminated windshield glass: two sheets of glass bonded around a plastic inner layer, where a stone chip breaks only the outer sheet. The kit fills that break with clear resin, sealing out air and water so the damage stops spreading.

The kit to buy is the Permatex 09103, a single-component system with no resin to mix and no hardener to measure. Its syringe and plunger first pull air out of the chip, then push resin in, held in place by a suction pedestal stuck to the glass, and sunlight cures the resin hard.

Do not confuse it with the brand’s other products: Permatex Ultra Black RTV is a silicone gasket maker for oil pans and valve covers — engine work, nothing to do with glass. And a windshield chip is not a paint chip: a paint chip is missing paint on metal, fixed with a touch-up pen, while a windshield chip is broken glass, fixed with resin. Our how to repair chipped paint guide covers the paint job; this article covers the glass job.

Permatex 09103 Windshield Repair Kit on Amazon: 9-piece kit, syringe and plunger, repair compound, pedestal, razor blade, curing strip, adhesive disc, alcohol towelette and push pin.

What Is in the Box: the 09103 Kit, Piece by Piece

The 09103 is a 9-piece kit, and every piece has a job. The syringe and plunger draw air out of the chip, then force resin into the break. The repair compound is a small tube of clear acrylic resin, 0.025 fluid ounces — enough for one chip, which is why the kit is single-use. The pedestal is the suction cup that holds the syringe over the damage, and the adhesive disc sticks it to the glass.

The rest finishes the job: the push pin clears loose glass from the chip, the alcohol towelette cleans the glass so the disc bonds, the curing strip is a clear film laid over the filled chip while the resin cures, and the razor blade scrapes off the excess.

The 16067 Bullseye kit is the same system for bullseye damage up to 1.25 inches, minus the push pin and razor blade, and the 81546 is a similar small single-chip kit. Neither variant’s US listing was verified at draft time, so neither is linked here — the full 09103 has every tool the job needs.

Which Chips It Can Fix — and Which It Cannot

A bullseye is the round chip a stone leaves — a dark centre with a clean ring — and this windshield chip repair kit is built for bullseyes up to 1¼ inches across. A star break has short cracks radiating from the impact point, and the kit is listed for star damage too.

The limits matter more than the promises. The kit only repairs the outer layer of laminated glass, so damage through to the inner layer is beyond it. A long crack, a crack reaching the edge of the windshield, or a chip with missing glass will not hold a resin repair — the resin has nothing to bond to and the crack keeps running. Chips in the driver’s direct line of sight are a hard no: even a good repair leaves a faint mark, and a mark where you look through the glass distracts on every drive.

The honest expectation: a good DIY repair seals the chip, stops it spreading, and makes it much harder to see from a normal distance. It does not make the glass look new — judge the result from the driver’s seat, not with your nose against the glass.

How to Use the Permatex Windshield Repair Kit

First, clean the chip: wipe the glass with the alcohol towelette and use the push pin to flick out loose glass — resin cannot bond to dust or fragments. Work in the shade with the windshield between 50°F and 75°F (10–25°C): direct sun starts curing the resin early, and you want it liquid until it is inside the chip. Do not start the repair on a hot windshield, in direct sunlight, or if rain is expected.

Next, stick the adhesive disc over the chip and press the pedestal onto it. Squeeze the resin from the tube into the pedestal — save a small amount in the tube for the curing strip later — then fit the syringe into the pedestal. Pull the plunger up, lock it, and leave it for 10 minutes: this vacuum cycle draws air out of the chip. Then push the plunger down, lock it, and leave it for 20 minutes to force resin into the break.

Remove the syringe, then carefully lift the pedestal and adhesive disc off with the razor blade. Squeeze the remaining resin onto the curing strip, lay the strip flat over the filled chip, smooth out any air bubbles with the razor, and move the car into direct sunlight to cure. After curing, peel the strip off and scrape the excess resin away with the razor blade held flat against the glass.

Curing: Sunlight Does the Work

There is no heat gun, UV lamp, or second chemical in this kit — the sun is the curing tool. The resin hardens under ultraviolet light, and the curing strip keeps the filled chip air-tight with a flat surface while the sun works. In direct sunlight the cure takes at least 15 minutes; on a hazy day, allow at least an hour. Those times are from the kit’s instruction sheet — follow the timing on your own copy.

Two mistakes ruin the cure. The first is curing too early: sun on resin before the chip is filled hardens it where you do not want it, so keep the work shaded until the chip is filled. The second is impatience: scraping before the resin has fully hardened smears the repair and pulls resin back out.

Permatex 09103 vs Rain-X 600001: Which Kit to Buy

The closest rival is the Rain-X 600001 Windshield Repair Kit — and Rain-X is listed as the manufacturer behind the Permatex 09103 itself. Both inject clear resin into a chip and cure it in sunlight with a curing strip; the differences are the damage they cover and what comes in the box.

The 09103 covers the wider damage: bullseye repairs up to 1¼ inches, plus star damage, with a full 9-piece kit including the push pin and razor blade. The Rain-X 600001 is listed for round damage below 1 inch and cracks smaller than 12 inches — a smaller bullseye limit, but it explicitly covers short cracks, which the Permatex listing does not promise. A bullseye between 1 and 1¼ inches means Permatex; a short crack means the Rain-X is the better-matched windshield crack repair kit.

Each 09103 kit repairs one chip — 0.025 fluid ounces of resin is a single-chip dose — so frequent stone-chip drivers go through single kits fast. The 09103-6PK is six identical 09103 kits in one buy. Do not buy it for a single chip.

Rain-X 600001 Windshield Repair Kit on Amazon: resin-based kit for round damage below 1 inch in diameter and cracks smaller than 12 inches in length.

When to Skip DIY and Get a Pro Replacement

A resin kit is the right tool for a small, fresh chip. Everything else belongs to a professional. Book a glass shop if the crack is long, reaches the edge of the windshield, has missing glass or crushed edges, or goes through both layers of the laminate.

Damage in the driver’s direct line of sight should go to a pro: even a textbook repair leaves a faint blemish, and a blemish in your sightline is a safety problem, not a cosmetic one. The same applies to damage in front of a driver-assistance camera or rain sensor — the camera needs a clear optical path, and if the glass is replaced the camera usually needs recalibrating, a job no DIY kit covers. Check your insurance first: many policies pay for professional chip repair with no deductible, which makes the DIY saving disappear.

A chip left for months has dirt and moisture worked into the break, and resin does not bond well to a dirty chip. Fresh chips repair best — the same week the stone hits. Used the week the damage happens, on a small chip in the right place, the kit saves a windshield.

Common Mistakes That Ruin a Windshield Repair

First, repairing a dirty chip: resin will not bond to dust, wax, or loose glass, so the alcohol wipe and push pin are not optional. Second, skipping the vacuum cycle: pushing resin into a chip full of air traps bubbles, the bright spots that stay visible after curing.

Third, working in strong sun: resin that cures in the syringe is wasted. Fourth, scraping too soon, which drags soft resin out of the chip. Fifth, picking the wrong damage: a long crack, an edge crack, or a chip in the sightline was never a kit job. Sixth, waiting too long: a chip left for months fills with grime and spreads with every temperature swing.

Who Should Buy a Permatex Windshield Repair Kit

Buy the Permatex 09103 if: you have a fresh bullseye or star chip under 1¼ inches, outside your line of sight, and you want it sealed this weekend.

Buy the Rain-X 600001 if: your damage is a short crack rather than a round chip, or a round chip under 1 inch, and you want the rival kit that lists short cracks explicitly.

Buy the 09103 6-pack if: your household runs several cars or you drive a lot of highway miles. One kit repairs one chip, so the pack is for repeat stone-chip drivers, not a single repair.

Skip the kit if: the crack is long, at the edge, or in your line of sight; if it sits in front of a driver-assistance camera; or if insurance covers professional chip repair. In those cases the right move is a glass shop — and a paint chip is a different job, covered in our how to repair chipped paint guide.

The Verdict

A permatex windshield repair kit earns its place in the glovebox because a stone chip is a race against time. The resin seals the chip air-tight, stops the crack spreading, and makes the damage much harder to see — no mixing, no power tools, sunlight as the curing lamp. The 9-piece kit is the one to buy: it has the push pin and razor the compact variants leave out, and it covers the widest damage at up to 1¼ inches.

Buy it the week the stone hits, use it on a small chip outside your line of sight, and judge the result from the driver’s seat.

Permatex 09103 Windshield Repair Kit on Amazon: 9-piece kit, syringe and plunger, repair compound, pedestal, razor blade, curing strip, adhesive disc, alcohol towelette and push pin.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will a Permatex windshield repair kit make the chip invisible?

No. A permatex windshield repair kit seals the chip and makes it much less noticeable, but a faint mark usually remains where the glass broke. The repair is structural first: it bonds the glass, seals out air and water, and stops the damage from spreading. Judge the result from the driver’s seat at a normal distance, not with your nose against the glass.

What size chip can the Permatex 09103 fix?

Permatex lists the 09103 for bullseye damage up to 1¼ inches on most laminated windshield glass, and the kit is also listed for star damage. Anything larger, longer, or at the edge of the glass is beyond a DIY kit and belongs at a glass shop. Note: some retailer listings for this kit mention chips up to 2.75 inches — that figure refers to overall chip/star damage in the listing copy, not the 1¼-inch bullseye limit in the instruction manual; use the 1¼-inch bullseye limit as your guide.

How long does a Permatex windshield repair take?

Allow about an hour start to finish: clean the chip, mount the pedestal, then a 10-minute vacuum cycle and a 20-minute pressure cycle before the curing strip goes on. Curing takes at least 15 minutes in direct sunlight, or at least an hour on a hazy day, according to the kit’s instruction sheet. Follow the timing on your own instruction sheet, and do not scrape the excess resin off before it has fully hardened.

Can I use the kit on a chip in my line of sight?

No, do not repair a chip in the driver’s direct line of sight yourself. Even a good resin repair leaves a faint blemish, and a blemish right where you look through the glass is a distraction on every drive. Damage in the sightline, or in front of a driver-assistance camera, needs a professional opinion — and often a replacement rather than a repair.

Does the Permatex kit work on side windows or the rear window?

No. The kit is made for laminated windshield glass, which is two sheets of glass bonded around a plastic inner layer. Side and rear windows are tempered glass, which is a single layer that shatters differently and cannot be resin-repaired the same way. Use the kit on the windshield only, and get a professional opinion for any other glass on the car.

Permatex 09103 vs Rain-X 600001 — which should I buy?

Buy the Permatex 09103 for a bullseye up to 1¼ inches or a star break: it covers the wider damage and comes as a full 9-piece kit with the push pin and razor blade included. Buy the Rain-X 600001 if your damage is a short crack under 12 inches or a round chip under 1 inch — it lists short cracks explicitly. For a plain small bullseye, either kit does the job.