The automotive windshield is an engineering marvel designed for both style and substance as an integral part of a vehicle. Over the lifetime of an automobile, truck or SUV, the all-important windshield glass is engineered to take a beating from structural support and handling design stresses while driving. From providing built-in UV protection and safety for vehicle occupants in the event of a mishap, the windshield isn’t indestructible.
However, there are a host of roadside hazards that can chip or even crack the modern-day windshield. This article takes a closer look at how windshield repair technicians approach such damage when considering the option of repairing a windshield rather than replacing it.
How Is The Windshield Made?
The windshield is made up of laminated automotive glass. This is two layers of glass sandwiched around a thin barrier, when heated it becomes automotive safety glass. The boundary between the glass, called the lamination, helps to hold broken pieces of glass together in the event of a mishap.
Windshield repair is the process of injecting a curable resin into the outer layer of glass on a chipped windshield to restore that layer of glass. While that may sound relatively simple, there are many factors to consider when identifying and executing a successful repair.
Types Of Windshield Cracks
Let’s start by looking at what a repair technician looks for when assessing what can reasonably be repaired. Traditionally, breaks in a windshield have fallen under the following four descriptors; Bullseye, Halfmoon, Star, and Combination.
A Bull’s-eye is a clean separated cone-shaped break in the outer layer of the glass that slightly resembles a bulls-eye on a dartboard.
Similar to the bullseye, the Half Moon is distinguished by its Halfmoon semicircle around the impact point and is also a cone-shaped break.
A Starbreak is marked by several distinct fractures and rays that radiate outward from the impact point like legs.
A Combination break is any break that combines two or more break types, but experienced technicians have seen even more
types of breaks. To those original four, we can add Starburst, Angelwing, Straight-line break, and a simple crack.
A Starburst is similar to a Starbreak, with a large number of rays radiating outward from the impact point.
An Angelwing is a distinct combination break whose rays extend primarily left and right of the impact point like wings.
Straight line breaks are longer breaks with a distinct left-to-right fracture splitting across the impact point.
A Crack is a break resembling a line within the outer layer of glass whose depth runs from the surface of the outer layer of glass to the lamination. These cracks can curve or have sharp twists and bends.
Each of the break types is generally repairable depending upon its size, depth, and location on the windshield. Special care must be taken, for example, when repairing the edge of the windshield where design stresses are higher. You must be able to access or see the break to restore it fully.
Which Cracks Can be Repaired?
The days of using a dime, a quarter, and a dollar to determine what can reasonably be repaired are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. New technologies and new systems are available which give the repair technician an opportunity to predict the probability of a successful repair based on an analysis of the type of break and the elements that make up that break. Generally speaking, the larger and more complex the break, the more you must rely on the skill of the technician to make repairs.
Repairs are made or not made on a case-by-case basis based on the technician’s understanding of breaks, skill with repair equipment, and expectation for a high-quality repair. In general, most common breaks are repairable regardless of the location on the windshield, provided the repair equipment can be centered over the break.
Critical Sight Area On The Windshield
The important exception to this is a break located within the driver’s critical sight area or acute area. Based on the drivers line-of-sight over the steering wheel, any break in this area – even a properly repaired crack may be distracting. Basically, it is entirely possible that the only safe and proper solution is to completely replace the windshield.
Consideration must be made for the height differences of all potential drivers of the vehicle when reviewing breaks in the acute area. Individual state inspection laws govern this rule.
How Is The Crack Repaired?
An adequately trained technician assesses the damage, prepares the chip or break for repair, and executes the repair using a qualified repair system. Then, the technician allows the repair to cure using a portable UV lamp or the natural UV rays found in sunlight. Once cleaned and polished, the repair is shown to the customer.
In truth, it’s all about being able to look at a break and determine based on size, type, and location whether or not you can choose repair as a viable alternative to a windshield replacement.
Always have the brake inspected by a qualified repair technician as you can see windshield breaks are generally tiny. What you’ve seen today has been magnified to illustrate the many facets of the brakes that you may encounter.
Ultimately, this bears repeating repairs are made or not made on a case-by-case basis based on the repair technician’s understanding of breaks, skill with repair equipment, and the expectation for a high-quality result. The more complicated the brake, the more you need to rely on the technology, training, and technique of a skilled repair technician. This knowledge is your key to approaching windshield repairs like a pro.
Fast Glass is a local family owned and operated business. We have been in business providing the highest quality windshield replacement since 1978. We have installed over 1,000,000 Windshields and over 150,000 windows over the past 39 years and are the leaders in our industry. No one even comes close to matching our record in Nevada or Idaho.
We have some of the most highly skilled technicians in the entire world, with an average of 17 years of experience. Rest assured that your vehicle is in highly capable hands. Visit one of our locations to get your windshield repaired.
About Fast Glass Inc.. https://fastglassinc.com/about-us/