A stone hit the windshield: what to do? Windshield chip and crack repair

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:41

Literally anything can happen on the road, from a minor or major accident to a stone hitting the glass. This is one of the most pressing issues today. If a stone hit the windshield, what should I do in such a situation? Consider the answers to this question in our article.

Where do the stones on the roads come from

You can think for a long time where the stones appear on the roadway. Most of them remain after the winter, when the frozen roadbed is sprinkled with gravel to eliminate slipping and skidding. Many pebbles remain after repair work. Also a lot of them are on the sidelines. On the road they are carried by the wind or stopping cars.

What to do if a chip or crack appears

We offer basic recommendations that will help to avoid unpleasant consequences after such an accident and will make repairs more successful in the event of a stone hitting the glass:

• First you needseal the defect with colorless adhesive tape. To avoid contact of the adhesive surface with the chipped area, it is advisable to place a small piece of paper. If it is not at hand, you can use the same adhesive tape, placing it on the defect with the side that does not have glue.
• During the movement of the car, did a stone hit the windshield? What to do in the first minute after the incident? Immediately turn off the glass heating and cold air blowing. If the trouble occurred in the winter, and your car had not yet had time to warm up before the incident, set a low temperature when blowing. Let the glass take a little longer to warm up. This will prevent the problem from being worsened by a sudden temperature drop.
• Experts advise parking the car on a level surface to minimize the transfer of body deformation to the windshield. In the daytime, it is better to leave your car in the shade to exclude direct sunlight through the glass.
• Try not to put off windshield repairs for too long.

What affects the appearance of such defects

What do you think is the most damaged part of the car? Of course it's the windshield. When the car moves, it takes on the blows of insects and other objects in the air.

The most common cause of damage is the ingress of fine gravel or crushed stone into it. What happens when a stone hits the windshield? The consequences directly depend on the size of the stone, as well as onmachine travel speed. Also has a direct impact on windshield defects model and brand of car. The fact is that many expensive cars are equipped with strong glasses that are more reliable than those installed on budget cars.

When the windshield should not be repaired

Answering this question is quite simple. Did a rock hit the windshield? What if he left a chip no larger than 5 mm on the surface? You can remove the defect with the help of special equipment and chemicals to repair. It is advisable to contact the service station with this problem, where experienced specialists work.

If the size of the defect on the surface is more than 5 mm in diameter, then the car service workers advise to completely replace this part of the machine.

Whether it is possible to repair the windshield of a car after being hit by a stone directly depends on the area in which the defect occurred. If the stone has created a defect on any edge (10 cm from the edge on each side of the case), then the glass should be replaced.

When else do you need to do this work? If a stone broke the windshield in the field of view of a motorist. There is an unspoken rule. It states that the motorist's field of vision falls on that part of the windshield on the driver's side, which has the size of an A4 sheet, the center of which is located on the vertical axis of the steering wheel.

Types of windshield damage

Practically all modern cars are producedwith a laminated windshield called "triplex". When hitting a stone, only the outer layer is damaged. Depending on the degree of defect, damage is divided into several main types:

• Mash. Sufficiently light damage, which is expressed in the appearance of a cloudy area on the glass. A defect appears due to tangential impacts with hard objects, or shabby wiper blades. Minor rubbing is removed by polishing.
• Scratch. Slight damage to the outer layer, which is expressed in small strips, a few microns thick. Small scratches can be removed from the glass surface by polishing.
• Shcherbina. It occurs due to small stones hitting the windshield. This is not a very severe glass damage in the form of a small defect about 1 mm deep. There is no through penetration of the outer layer. No repairs required.
• Skol. Violation of the integrity of the windshield when the outer layer is pierced. The lesions are predominantly round in shape, sometimes containing swelling, "cobwebs" and "stars". Professional repair required.
• Crack. This is damage to the windshield by a stone, as a result of which significant defects appear on the surface. Most often they arise from chips. Repair or complete glass replacement required.

How the broken glass will look after repair

Many drivers who encounter this problem often wonder ifhow the car will look after repairing chips and cracks on the windshield.

We want to reassure you. If you contact a good specialist who works with expensive materials and high-quality chemicals, and also has sufficient practical experience, then after the repair you are unlikely to notice the damage.

The nature of the damage also affects whether a stone chip on the glass will be noticeable. Modern technologies really help to remove chips from glass so that the surface becomes almost perfect. This means that the glass after repair will have the same appearance as before the damage.

How to fix a chip with duct tape

Probably, every second motorist has small problems in the form of chips on the windshield. These are not such serious defects, but they may well turn into cracks. The main thing is to treat such damage responsibly and try to eliminate the defect as soon as possible.

If such damage is found, immediately seal it with transparent tape. This will briefly delay further deterioration of the surface, prevent the ingress of dirt and dust, and also protect against the negative effects of chemically active substances.

Use of chemicals

Repair of chips and cracks on the windshield is also carried out with the help of special chemicals for cars. One of these products is the popular Permatex kit. When performing the procedure, the glass must be clean and dry. In addition, its temperaturesurface should not be too high. If the windshield accidentally gets very hot in the sun, then it is better to carry out the procedure at another time. You can also drive the car into the shade to cool the windshield.

Post-Repair Rules

After repairing the windshield, in order not to worsen its condition, you must do the following:

• Do not turn on the heating or defroster in the winter. A large difference in temperature outside and inside negatively affects the condition of the repaired surface.
• Do not go to car washes where high pressure equipment is used. Experts advise to wipe the surface of the windshield by hand, without pressing it hard.
• In the cold season, it is not recommended to immediately leave a warm car in the cold. It should be cooled gradually, for example, by opening the windows for 1-2 minutes, so that the temperature difference in the cabin and on the street becomes approximately the same.

Glass repair by Casco

If your car is insured under comprehensive insurance, then windshield repairs are carried out at the expense of the insurance company. If a stone hits the windshield, Casco considers it an insured event. Most often, large chips and cracks are the main reason for replacing this car part. Most companies change the windshield without certificates of an accident from the traffic police. To do this, you just need to contact the insurance company.

MTPL repair

It is important to distinguish two main damage situationswindshield, in which there are chances for payment under OSAGO. The first case is a surface defect as a result of an accident. If the glass is broken due to a collision of several cars or a stone hits the windshield from under the wheels of another car, OSAGO may reimburse the repair costs. However, the driver of the damaged car will have to make some effort to get insurance.

For OSAGO, crushed stone, gravel or just a stone in the windshield is an insured event. If the perpetrator of the accident is detained, then under his OSAGO policy, compensation is transferred to the new windshield of the damaged vehicle. However, in practice, it is almost impossible to detain the driver of the car in front or prove his guilt.

We examined situations in which a stone hit the windshield while driving a car. What to do in such cases? The article answers this question.