Windshield Repair
It is a little known fact that the windshield of your car is an integral part of the Safety Restraint System.
The integrity of the windshield is directly related to the effectiveness of the Passenger AirBag during air bag deployment.
Additionally, the windshield serves as a component of the vehicle frame providing up to 45% of the structure of the vehicles cabin in a front end collision and up to 60% stability in a roll over event.
When a chip or crack is evident, these safety features are compromised and if the chip grows into a larger unrepairable crack, it is severely compromised. Considering the quality of the repair is a judgement of safety.
In fact appearance is secondary to the primary purpose of restoring windshield integrity.
Reference the top 3 subjects to consider when judging the quality of a windshield repair.
Why Repair ASAP?
There are several reasons why it’s a good idea to repair a windshield as soon as a chip or break becomes evident.
1. Repairing a windshield is significantly less costly than replacement, especially when considering most late model vehicles are equipped with ADAS (Advance Driver Assist System) features which utilize sensors in the windshield among other areas. When a windshield is replaced, these sensors require an expensive recalibration process. Repairing the windshield does not affect these systems leaving the original sensors and calibration intact.
2. A damaged windshield that can be safely repaired may not always remain repairable. It is common for chips to grow into unrepairable cracks necessitating windshield replacement. Repairing a windshield as soon as possible, will mitigate this possibility.
What Causes a Chip to Spread?
1. Temperature fluctuations create expansion and contraction in the glass itself. This puts tremendous pressure on those weak areas at the break.
2. Flexing of the windshield while driving. Articulation of the road and making turns around corners cause the frame of the vehicle body and windshield to flex.
3. Vibration while driving especially when hitting potholes.
Why is Resin important?
The quality of the repair resin is an essential component of the windshield repair process. Resin fills the break and once properly cured, bonds and restores the structural integrity of the windshield.
Here are the factors we considered when determining which resin we would incorporate with our repairs.
– Refractive Index. This is how much the path of light bends as it enters a material. Resins with a low refractive index provide a less distorted appearance aiding in a less noticeable repair.
– Not just any UV Light will do. The specific UV wavelength incorporated for curing must match the resin compound structure to obtain a complete cure.
– Flexibility. A quality resin must be able to handle temperature swings and vibrations which can cause a repair to fail.
– Strength. This is the most important factor which also ties into the curing process. The strength of the repair is key to restoring the structural integrity of the windshield.
There are a myriad of different resins on the market all claiming to be the best. But we never take a manufacturer’s claims alone. We require more than that. That is why we compared 6 leading resins in an independent lab test measuring tensile strength.
GlasWeld resin tested 34% stronger than the other resins in the study and 15% stronger than the runner-up. You can see why we choose GlasWeld resin.
