Combination Breaks: A Bullseye With Legs Coming Off It

A combination break is what it sounds like. You have the circular ring of a bullseye and you also have legs radiating out from the center like a star break, both in the same piece of damage. It is the most common chip type after those two, and it means the rock hit harder than usual.

Why You Get Both at Once

The two patterns come from two different ways glass fails, and a hard enough impact does both.

The bullseye part is the outer glass layer separating from the plastic layer in a circle around the point of impact. The star part is the outer layer actually cracking outward along stress lines. A moderate straight on hit gives you the first. A harder or angled hit gives you both, because there is more energy than the circular separation alone can absorb.

Practically speaking, a combination break usually means highway speed and a decent sized rock. If you were behind a dump truck on US-19 or SR-200 when it happened, that tracks.

Can It Be Repaired?

Usually yes. Judge it by the total damaged area rather than by the ring alone, which is the mistake people make when they measure these over the phone.

• Measure from the tip of the longest leg to the tip of the one opposite, not just across the circle.
• If that whole footprint sits inside a quarter to a half dollar, it is normally repairable.
• If the legs are running well past the ring, treat it like a star break and get it looked at quickly, because those tips are what spread.
• Edge of the glass or driver's direct line of sight changes the answer regardless of size.

Why It Is the Fussiest of the Three to Do Well

You are filling two different shapes at once, and they want different things.

The circular separation fills best with steady even pressure spreading outward. The legs need pressure driven down narrow channels that taper to nothing. Pull the vacuum properly and both clear out. Rush that step and you get resin in the ring and air still sitting in the ends of the legs, which is the worst of both worlds because the parts most likely to spread are the parts you failed to seal.

It is the same equipment and the same thirty minutes as any other chip. It just rewards doing the steps in order and not hurrying the vacuum.

What the Result Looks Like

Honestly, a combination break is more likely to leave a visible trace than a clean bullseye. You have more total damaged area and you have leg lines, and legs are the thing that tends to stay faintly visible at the right angle.

From the driver's seat, in normal light, you should not be picking it out. Up close in direct sun you probably can. What you get for certain is a sealed chip that is not going to run across your windshield in August, which is the point of the exercise.

Call or text a photo and Patrick will tell you whether yours is still in repairable range. If it is not, he will say so.