Have you ever been on the road and a rock jumps up and hits your windshield, leaving a small crack? If you’re like me, you have a large deductible on your car insurance — equal to or more than the cost of the windshield replacement — so you do nothing and hope that it doesn’t get any worse. As evidenced by the cracks that eventually spread across my view, I have not had very good results with that strategy.

Well, I recently found out about the Windshield Wizard — and he provides an option that may save you some money and help the environment at the same time. If you live on the peninsula, he’ll drive to your location, take a look at your windshield and, if possible, fix your windshield for $75 — with a guarantee — in about an hour. He can generally repair a break that’s 2-3 inches long, or as big as a quarter in circumference, and he also offers windshield replacement if the damage requires it. His name is Daniel Darmody and he’s been the Windshield Wizard for 14 years, with a passion for “manipulating molecules, performing ‘wizardry’ and making it right again.”

Darmody got his start fixing cars with his dad as a boy in California. A self-defined “hands-on guy,” Darmody gained further experience around cars and trucks in a couple different jobs: over 13 years working for FedEx and another 10 years in an outside sales position, driving around the Bay Area. After experiencing “corporate restructuring” that had him doing the work of three people and making the same money, he decided to start his own business and found his niche in windshield repair. For those who may be considering various entrepreneurial options in the current economy, Darmody has these words of advice: “Do your research, find your market, research the competition, have backup cash reserves and don’t be a loner.”

Darmody is definitely a “people person,” with a warm smile and gregarious nature – always willing to explain and educate as he does his work. Darmody taught me that a windshield is actually a plastic membrane sandwiched by two layers of glass. When a small rock hits the windshield it will often make a pit or dent, allowing air and moisture to seep between the glass and the plastic. When heated, this trapped air and moisture expands and will often result in a crack. The trick is to remove the air and moisture with a ProVac and an evaporator, fill with windshield resin under pressure, cure the repaired break with ultraviolet light, and fill the surface pit and polish it.

As Darmody explains, this is all possible due to the nature of liquefied silica, which is suspended somewhere between a liquid and a solid at all times. Darmody says that he can restore 100 percent of the windshield’s strength and 75-95 percent of the clarity; if done properly, the repair looks like a watermark.

Darmody also points out that because of the plastic-and-glass combinations, windshields are not easily recycled and have therefore resulted in “mountains of glass” in our landfills. By repairing rather than replacing, we are saving money and “going green” – a nice win-win. And you’ll get honest service from someone who proudly states, “I like to service people and take care of them; I’m interested in what makes people tick.”

Darmody and his wife live in Pacifica where he spends time between service calls reading, and writing his next book. The Windshielf Wizrd can be reached at 650-359-1528 or cell 415-860-7977.