How Important Is It To Repair Windshield Chip?
Contents
What Is A Windshield Chip?
A windshield is a framed curve glass, generally positioned at the front of the vehicle to protect the front occupants from wind. The glass is generally constructed out of two glass layers, with a strong lamination placed between them.
All the three layers are constructed to form a single layer, such that the two glass layers are glued on either side of the lamination with an adhesive. The glue is an adhesive, known as urethane and the lamination is a strong plastic, known as vinyl plastic.
The frame, commonly referred to as frit, holds all the three layers tightly, to form the end product, called as windshield. Urethane generally melts when exposed to the sun’s UV rays. Therefore, frit is made to be 2 to 4 inches wide to protect the moldings against melting and damage.
Why Do You Need A Windshield Chip?
Windshield plays a very important role in offering two efficient requirements that anyone who is driving in a vehicle would need:
In Terms Of Drivability, The Role Is:
- To block wind from entering inside the four wheeler.
- To block dust and air-borne particles from entering the eyes of the driver.
In Terms Of Safety, The Role Is:
- During heavy impact at the time of accidents, it allows the airbag to deploy towards the direction of the driver.
- If the car rolls over during the accident, it protects the car roof from crushing. This saves the passengers inside the vehicle from falling out of the car such that their body parts might crush between the car and the accident area. In fact, side windows also play equal role in such scenarios.
What Happens If The Windshield Is Not Installed Properly?
If the windshield is cracked, or is not installed properly, there might be greater chances for the glass to lose integrity. Therefore, the glass might explode and fall into the eyes of the driver and the other occupants of the vehicle.
During accidents, if the windshield shatters, the fragments might fly and fall on the airbag, thus reducing the effect of airbag from deploying. These glass fragments fly at very high speed and are very sharp. Thus, when hit, they can be very dangerous.
How To Install Windshield?
Installing windshield is a highly computerized process, and is a part of automobile manufacturing. Both the molding and windshield are accurately fixed along with the car frame, to the body of the vehicle. Once fixed, the manufacturing process continues with other processes before offering the end product to the market.
Thus, the molding of the windshield gets enough time to settle and fix properly.If the windshield is damaged after the customer uses the car then, repairing would be to install the damaged one with a brand new one.
For this, the old molding, urethane are cleared using various processes and new adhesives are used to fix the new windshield. Once done, the user needs to wait for at least 24 hours before using the car.
What Kind Of Stresses Does A Windshield Undergo?
When a glass is exposed to extreme high temperatures or extreme low temperatures such that it is beyond the capacity of the glass to withstand, there are chances for it to explode. This is because, the glass expands and shrinks accordingly.
Also, the frame that holds the windshield is made of metal. Metals also expand and shrink with the change in temperatures. This might create a stress on the windshield if it is not installed with proper measured gaps that should actually exist between the glass and the metal frame.
Can You Ignore A Windshield Repair?
Now, it is that you understood the importance of windshield, it would be unwise to neglect the repair of a windshield.
As a part of car maintenance, one should also consider regular check of windshield as it not only shields you from dust, wind and other impacts, but also shields you to protect your valuable life.
There is no surprise to say that a properly installed windshield can successfully play its role in saving your endangered life.