How are windscreens repaired
How Are Windscreens Repaired?
If you have been driving for some time you will no doubt have had some damage to your windscreen. It’s very easy for a loose stone or piece of gravel to fly up from the road and chip the screen.
It’s also very easy to leave it and not bother to get it repaired. It pays to get it seen to as quickly as possible, because the whole screen could be compromised if you don’t.
The main thing to be aware of is that a tiny and seemingly inconspicuous chip can develop into a crack. The only way to avoid the chance of this happening is to get the chip repaired before it can develop into something worse and it is much easier and cheaper to have a chip repaired than to pay for a new windscreen. Even if you are covered by your insurance policy you will still need to pay the excess to get it done.
The actual process of having a chip repaired is relatively simple. In fact you will sometimes see the service being offered in supermarket car parks. This just goes to show that your chip will be repaired in less than the time it takes you to do your shopping!
As with any type of repair, making sure that the area of the chip is clean is the most important thing to do initially. If any shards of glass remain in the chip, the repair will not be as strong as it should be.
Once the chip is clean and ready to be treated, a special piece of equipment is used to get rid of all the air around the location of the chip. The equipment stays in place and is then used to inject resin into the chip. This will essentially take the place of the glass that has been damaged, to make the windscreen strong again.
Of course it isn’t enough to leave it like that. The initial application of the resin is not neat enough to finish the process there and then. Another stage is required to render the repair complete.
This involves setting the resin under a UV light. The resin will remain mouldable and pliable until this is done, and once it is it will be just as strong as the rest of the windscreen. A quick polish will ensure the resin is smooth and neat, and the repair will not show. More to the point, the chip will have been filled and prevented from turning into a crack that could ruin the entire screen.
It is clear to see that windscreen repair is not something to be taken lightly. You should attend to any minor damage like this as quickly as possible, because doing so means that it will not turn into major damage.