What Is in an Auto Glass Tool Kit: Basic, Standard, Premium and Elite

GT Tools sells four windshield removal kits, from $1,103 to $4,676. The gap between the cheapest and the most expensive is not a matter of better versions of the same tools. Every kit contains the same hand tools. What changes as you move up is how many ways you can cut glass out, and whether one person can set the new glass alone.

This guide covers what’s included in each kit and which of the additions matter for the work you do.

The Four Kits

Kit	Price	Powered cutting	Cord and wire	Setting device	Battery platform
Basic	$1,103.00	No	No	No	Milwaukee 18V
Standard	$1,943.00	Diablo 18V	No	No	Milwaukee 18V or DeWalt
Premium	$2,923.00	GT.38 Special 20V	FinalCut or KONG	No	DeWalt 20V
Elite	$4,676.00	Diablo 18V	FinalCut	Lil Buddy	Milwaukee 18V or DeWalt

Prices checked 29 September 2026.

Read that table across rather than down. Three of those columns are yes or no questions about capability, and they help decide which kit you want.

What Every Kit Contains

All four kits ship the same hand tool set, so nothing below is a reason to move up a tier.

• A medium handle windshield removal cold knife, with 0.75 inch, 1 inch and 1.5 inch pull knife blades in five-packs
• An 18 inch aluminum long knife
• A pinchweld scraper razor tool, with 0.50 inch, 0.625 inch and 0.75 inch razor blades in ten-packs
• Super Grip suction cups, two-pack
• A 500 lb windshield stand
• Auto glass chisel sticks, a hook and pick set, a rope-in tool and a wire handle
• A curved handle locking strip tool, a molding release tool and a ball-end rubber gasket tool
• A Ford mirror removal tool, a universal bolt-on wiper puller, a narrow nose tool and a panel removal tool

That list is the whole of the Basic kit and the foundation of the other three. Our guides to manual urethane cutting tools and auto glass blades cover how the cold knife, long knife and blade sizes are used.

Basic: Everything by Hand

The Basic kit is $1,103.00. It contains the hand tool list above plus a Milwaukee 18V lithium-ion urethane gun, and that gun is the only powered item in the box.

There is no cut-out tool. Every removal is done with the cold knife and the long knife, by hand.

GT Tools describes the Basic kit as the essential items needed for auto glass removal, and as a set for a specialist who plans to expand on it later. That second half is the useful part. The same hand tools appear in every kit above, so nothing bought here is wasted if the shop moves up.

Buy it if you replace glass occasionally, if you are equipping a second technician who already has a cut-out tool, or if you want a complete hand set before deciding which powered method suits your work.

Standard: Adds Powered Cutting

The Standard kit is $1,943.00. It is the Basic kit plus one item: the Diablo 18V lithium-ion cut-out tool.

The Diablo is a reciprocating tool that drives a blade through the urethane bead around the glass, and it has the smallest footprint of the GT Tools reciprocating range.

The step from Basic to Standard is $840.00, and the Diablo on its own is $867.00. Buying the Standard kit rather than the Basic kit plus a Diablo separately costs $27.00 less and saves a second order.

The 18 volt Diablo and the Milwaukee 18 volt gun take the same batteries, so a technician works with one platform. Two powered tools, one charger, one type of spare pack.

Buy it if you replace glass regularly and want the cutting done by a motor rather than by hand.

Premium: Adds a Second Removal Method

The Premium kit is $2,923.00 and is built on DeWalt. It contains the GT.38 Special 20V cut-out tool, a DeWalt 20V lithium-ion urethane gun, and a choice of one cord and wire system: either the FinalCut or the KONG.

A cord and wire system is a different way of removing glass. Instead of a blade, a length of cord is threaded between the glass and the pinchweld and drawn back and forth to cut the urethane. GT Tools describes the FinalCut and KONG as suited to removing windshields from non-molding vehicles without damaging the body.

That is the reason the Premium kit exists. A shop with only a reciprocating tool has one method. A shop with both picks the method per vehicle. Our comparison of cutting line covers the cord itself, which is the consumable both systems use.

The kit also adds trim and interior tooling that the two kits below it do not have: an auto glass molding cutter, door and cowling removal tools, a panel removal set, short and long double bend rubber hook tools, a urethane notch cutter for shaping the new bead, and the Quarter Cutter long knife.

Two of the Premium items have prices of their own. The GT.38 Special is $867.00 and either cord system is $567.00, so $1,434.00 of the kit price is those two tools.

Buy it if you work on a mix of vehicles and want a cord system for the ones where a blade near the body is the wrong tool.

Elite: Adds One-Person Setting and Glass Storage

The Elite kit is $4,676.00. Its page describes it as covering every tool needed to replace glass with a single specialist, and that phrase is the difference between this kit and the three below it.

It contains the Diablo 18V cut-out tool with a 3 x 14 inch SDS blade, a Milwaukee 18V urethane gun, and the FinalCut cord system, so it has both removal methods. It also has the Premium kit's trim and cowling tooling, plus the Shorter Cutter long knife alongside the Quarter Cutter, two 1.5 x 10 inch sheath blades, ten anti-scratch winged scraper blades, a 20 oz sausage pack conversion for the urethane gun, a 3 inch by 300 foot roll of Marcy molding tape, a cowling clip set, and twelve chisel sticks rather than two.

Two items in that box change how the work is staffed rather than how it is done.

The Lil Buddy is an installation device that lets one technician set glass without a second pair of hands. It is $1,195.00 on its own. Our guide to single-technician windshield installation covers how setting devices work and what they replace.

A 9-slot glass rack holds glass between removal and installation, and is $368.00 on its own.

Add those to the Diablo at $867.00 and the FinalCut at $567.00, and four items account for $2,997.00 of the $4,676.00 price. The remaining thirty-seven line items make up the rest.

Buy it if you are staffing a bay with one technician per job, or setting up a new operation and would otherwise buy a setting device and a rack separately within the first year.

Milwaukee or DeWalt

The Standard and Elite kits each come in a Milwaukee version and a DeWalt version at the same price. The Premium kit is DeWalt only. The Basic kit ships a Milwaukee gun.

If your shop already has cordless tools, match the kit to the batteries on the shelf. Spare packs and chargers are the reason to care; a technician with one platform needs one charger.

If you have no cordless tools yet, the choice is open, with one consequence. Choosing Premium means choosing DeWalt, because there is no Milwaukee version of it. A shop that expects to buy a cord system later and standardize on Milwaukee is better served by Standard now and a FinalCut or KONG added separately.

Which Kit Fits Which Shop

Occasional replacement work, or a second technician. Basic at $1,103.00. Complete hand tools and a urethane gun, with every item carrying forward if you move up later.

Regular replacement on conventional vehicles. Standard at $1,943.00. One powered cutting method on the same battery platform as the gun.

A mixed vehicle load including non-molding vehicles. Premium at $2,923.00. Two removal methods and the trim tooling to go with them, on DeWalt.

One technician per job, or a new operation. Elite at $4,676.00. Both removal methods, a setting device and a glass rack.

The test between Premium and Elite is a staffing question rather than a volume question. If two people set every windshield, the Lil Buddy adds nothing you need. It matters when one technician is doing the job alone.

What the Kits Do Not Include

Four things to plan for separately.

Consumables. Blades, cord and razor blades are in the box once. After that they are a recurring order. The Elite kit ships ten winged scraper blades and two sheath blades; the others ship the razor blade ten-packs and pull knife five-packs listed earlier.

Glass handling beyond the Super Grip cups. Every kit has a two-pack of Super Grip suction cups and a 500 lb stand. Heavier or more curved panels call for a larger cup. Our guide to why suction cups fail covers sizing and rebuilding.

Primer, activator and cleaner. No kit includes them. Follow the adhesive manufacturer's instructions for the urethane you use.

A glass rack, unless you buy Elite. Basic, Standard and Premium all ship the 500 lb windshield stand, which holds one panel. A rack holds several.

The full range is in the Auto Glass Tool Kits collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between the Basic and Standard auto glass tool kits?

One item. The Standard kit is the Basic kit plus the Diablo 18V cut-out tool, which means the Basic kit has no powered cutting at all and every removal is done with the cold knife and long knife. The price difference is $840.00 and the Diablo on its own is $867.00.

Which auto glass tool kit includes a cord and wire removal system?

Premium and Elite. The Premium kit includes a choice of the FinalCut or the KONG. The Elite kit includes the FinalCut. Basic and Standard include neither, so on those two the only removal methods are hand cutting and, on Standard, the Diablo.

Do GT Tools kits come in Milwaukee and DeWalt versions?

Standard and Elite do, at the same price either way. Premium is DeWalt only and ships the GT.38 Special with a DeWalt 20V urethane gun. Basic ships a Milwaukee 18V urethane gun and no cut-out tool.

Which kit does a one-technician shop need?

Elite. It is the only kit containing a setting device, the Lil Buddy, which lets one technician set glass alone. On the other three kits a setting device is a separate purchase at $1,195.00.

Is a complete kit cheaper than buying the tools individually?

On the items that can be checked, yes. The step from Basic to Standard is $840.00 against $867.00 for the Diablo bought on its own. In the Elite kit, the Diablo, the FinalCut, the Lil Buddy and the 9-slot rack come to $2,997.00 of the $4,676.00 price, with thirty-seven further line items in the box.

What is the 500 lb windshield stand for?

It holds a panel upright between removal and installation, and it is in all four kits. It is not the same as a glass rack, which holds several panels and comes only in the Elite kit.

Can I add a cord system to a Standard kit later?

Yes. The FinalCut and the KONG are each $567.00 and are sold separately. A shop on Milwaukee that wants a cord system usually gets there this way, since the Premium kit is DeWalt only.

Browse the full range in the Auto Glass Tool Kits collection, or reach the team at gtglass.com.