All of us at some point will end up with windshield or window damage to our cars. It used to be that any type of damage, even a small crack or chip, required a replacement of the entire piece of glass. Now, technological advances have made it possible to actually repair some types of glass damage, which can save you time and money. A consultation with a technician who specializes in auto glass in Reynoldsburg OH can help you determine whether you should repair or replace the damaged glass in your car. This article will give you some of the main points of what kind of damage is fixable –and what should be replaced entirely.
First, it’s important to understand why auto glass is different from the glass that makes up the windows in your home. The glass in the windows of your car is tempered, meaning it goes through a special kind of heating and cooling process which makes it up to ten times stronger than normal glass. Windshield glass is made up of “Laminated Safety Glass.” This means that what appears to be one big sheet of glass is actually two pieces of pressurized glass, with a layer of vinyl in between. This layer protects you from flying glass during a crash. Both of these types of auto glass mean they need special consideration when they’re damaged. Your shop that specializes in auto glass in Reynoldsburg OH will know whether the glass can be repaired, or if it’s safest to replace it.
Generally, a windshield with damage larger than a quarter in diameter, or a crack longer than three inches, should be replaced, as the structural integrity of the pressurized glass will also be damaged. Some companies use a special technique that will allow some cracks as long as twelve inches to be repaired, or damage up to the size of a dollar bill. However, the location of the damage is also important as to whether the glass can be repaired or should be replaced. Even small cracks near the edges of a windshield can more easily compromise the glass’s structural integrity and may not be able to be repaired. The same goes with most chips and cracks that occur directly in the line of the driver’s vision. A technician with a company that specializes in auto glass in Reynoldsburg OH will be able to tell you whether the damage to your car’s glass can be repaired.