Windshield Repair

Windshield Damage – Why It’s Important to Respond Quickly

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Windshields are much more important than they appear on first sight. Windshields are there to provide high safety level for passengers and they are of great importance since the first car was manufactured. Windshields can be damaged in many ways. What is important is to know what exactly windshield is.Windshield Water Damage

Windshield is a “glass sandwich” made of two layers of laminated glass and one layer of plastics in between the laminated glass. The plastic between glass layers is providing flexibility and it makes significant difference when it comes to safety. It reduces the probability of glass shattering in accidents and therefore is very important.

How can a windshield be damaged?

Windshields have outer layers of glass and this glass can be easily damaged by debris, gravel, rocks and other objects you encounter while driving your vehicle. Depending on the speed you are driving, these objects can make minor or major damage. Starting from a scratch, over chip and finally, it can end with a crack in your windshield. Other things can damage the glass, such as branches falling on your car during a storm or similar. What you can do to prevent this damage is to adjust your speed of driving to type of road you are driving on. Keep distance between you and vehicle in front of you, avoid driving behind dump trailers and big trucks. Do not part car under older trees if you know there will be a storm during the day or night.

Another type of windshield damage is water damage. This can be divided in a few groups depending of the problem. Most common is water damage during winter. Water in chips gets frozen. It turns into ice and ice has higher volume than water in liquid state. Therefore, the ice will spread and cause cracking of the windshield.

If you have noticed water spots on your windshield, we have good news. There is a way to clean them. These water spots are result of some contaminate. It can either be a mixture of soap and water you washed your car with, it can be a consequence of acid rain. Water is polluted more or less and what cause these spots are chemicals in any shape. What you can do is use vinegar to get rid of them. By making a mixture of vinegar and water (50%-50%), you can make them disappear because acid in vinegar has the power to dissolve these stains. This vinegar mixture is highly effective with ice on windshield as well. Spray the mixture onto windshield and the ice will start dissolving immediately. What is even better from defrosting windshield fast is preventing the frosting at first place. You can do this with same mixture (vinegar: water 3:1 or 2:1) and using sponge apply the mixture onto glass.

Repair The Chip Yourself With A Windshield Chip Repair Kit

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Windshield Chip RepairAnyone with a car will know that windshield chips are the worst. Well, not the worst that can happen, but they are very annoying. You shouldn’t drive around with a chip in your windshield, but you don’t want to pay the money to fix it or replace it completely because it’s such a small thing. It can be a frustrating issue, but the good news is that you can repair a chip in your windshield yourself and save some money. Here’s how.

  1. Inspect the chip carefully

After noticing you have a chip, the first thing you need to do is drive home and then look at it. Take out the magnifying mirror, if you need to, and inspect the chip closely. How deep is it? How large? Is it just chipped glass, or is it a small crack? It’s important to note the difference because the repairing techniques are not the same. Once you have confirmed that it’s just a chip and not a big deal (although not all insurance will cover chips), you can go ahead and start the repairing process.

  1. Purchase the necessary equipment

Most people don’t know this, but you can find a windshield chip repair kit pretty easily. However, make sure you get a quality one and not a cheap one as it will make a huge difference on your windshield.

  1. Prep your surface

Before you start on the rock chip repair, make sure that your windshield is completely dry and at room temperature. The reason for this is that you don’t want to trap any moisture inside the chip. So take your car somewhere indoors and make sure your surface is clean and dry (use a hairdryer, if you must).

  1. Repair the chip

Your windshield chip repair kit will contain an adhesive and a syringe you can use to apply the glue. You will put the adhesive strip on the windshield, covering your rock chip. The syringe will go vertically, and you will need to pull it out to maximum capacity. This acts as a way to pull a vacuum into the syringe and the crack. Holding this allows the adhesive to trickle down into the chip or crack while the air bubbles up inside the syringe. Hold it like this for a full minute, and then let go. You can repeat this motion a few times until the chip fills up with glue. Once you’ve finished, remove everything from the windshield.

  1. Clean and finalize

You will notice that upon taking off the adhesive strip, you will have leftover glue on your windshield. This can be easily taken care of with a paper towel soaked in alcohol. However, be careful not to touch the adhesive on the chip – let it sit for a few hours. After the glue has hardened sufficiently, simply take a blade and razor off the excess. You can perform this action in a single motion if it’s sharp enough; if not, work bit by bit until the excess adhesive is gone.

That’s it! Just a little time and a windshield chip repair kit to do the job. If you have any questions, please contact us and we will help you through the process…