Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Car Windscreen Replacement Vs Stone Chip Repair

Has your car windscreen been hit by a rock? Stone chips are an extremely common occurrence, especially in area's where large trucks on the road are present or where road works are being carried out. While some stone chips are just cosmetic nuisances, others affect the driver's vision or become larger irreparable cracks with the elements affecting the area of damaged glass over time. the question now is should you repair your windscreen or replace it?

First of all let's explain the role of your vehicles windscreen and its safety aspects. First and foremost you need to be able to see through your vehicle's windscreen, with that said many states have laws stating at what point your windscreen will need to be replaced or repaired.

Typically there is a section of your windscreen that is classified as the "critical vision area" which is the part of the windscreen located approximately 300-400mm directly in front of the drivers seating position and extends the full height of the windscreen. In most cases a stone chip or crack outside this area can be repaired given the damaged area is no larger than 50mm in diameter. Typically a repair cannot take if it is within the critical vision area.

The windscreen is one of the main structural components of your vehicle and is integrated into airbag deployment. For example, the front side airbags are designed to bounce off your vehicles windscreen while inflating and a poorly fitted windscreen can pose serious safety concerns in the event of an accident. The deployment of an airbag will easily push out an improperly fitted windscreen losing strength in the roof structure and exposing occupants to the threat of being thrown from the vehicle.

Stone chip repair versus windscreen replacement: Because of all safety aspects involved you may or may not have a choice about opting for a repair. If the affected area breaches any of the strict safety guidelines - loss of critical vision, structural integrity, it will need to be replaced.

Windscreen replacements will need to follow strict motor safety standards. A government approved MRB licenced technician must carry all replacement. The adhesive urethane and glass must comply with CSI Australian standards, and the vehicle must be stationary until the safe drive away time associated with the urethane used has been reached. Look for a quality automotive glass company that implies safe installation procedures

In most cases repairing your vehicles windscreen will cost a lot less than a full replacement. Keep in mind that on the odd occasion repairs can fail from containing the damaged area to crack and run off. In this case generally a good automotive glass shop will take the cost of the repairs off the full replacement cost.

13 comments:

  1. I somehow got cement on my windscreen replacement of my car. I tried to use one of those green scoring pads that you use for washing dishes etc. I only rubbed very lighted being careful but unfortunately I have managed to make very faint scratches. Can anybody tell me how or what I can do to help remove these scratches? Thank you.

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  2. Thanks for the update. I really appreciate the efforts you have made for this blog.

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  3. I really like the post and the services that you have shared in the about the windscreen replacement techniques keep on posting new blogs.

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  4. This blog was pretty informative. I know it's cheaper to repair a chip when it's small than to replace the windshield completely, but sometimes you just don't have any other choice.

    --
    Liz Ellsworth | http://www.instantwindscreens.com.au/autoglass/

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  5. nice blog on Windscreen Repairs

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  6. Windscreen Gold Coast
    We are a local Gold Coast family business and pride ourselves on providing customers with a trustworthy reliable and professional service.

    With over nineteen years experience in windscreen repair and replacement combined with our extensive product knowledge we are able to advise customers
    on all aspects of automotive glazing and windscreen replacement and repair

    ReplyDelete
  7. After reading your article, I am pretty sure that I need a windscreen replacement. I was hoping that my crack could be repaired, but I think it is too large. My vehicle's registration will expire next month, and it will need to pass a safety inspection. That will never happen with the current state of my windscreen.

    http://www.instantwindscreens.com.au/autoglass/replacements/

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  8. I had a moment on the Pin bar this morning.. It was real messy with the out going tide... A nice sized wave broke over the front off the boat and crack the windscreen...
    Does anyone know off a place on the gold coast that can custom fit curved perspex windscreens.


    Windscreen Gold Coast
    Windscreen Replacement Gold Coast

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  9. I was surprised to see that the wildsereen was badly vandalized by what seemed to be a baseball bat and some piece of steel.
    I was happy to get the services of Novus and that he was able to replace the windows in no time

    Windscreen Gold Coast

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  10. We are proud to announce that Gold Coast Tire & Auto Centers has sold its South Florida stores to The Tire Choice & Total Car Care, a premier organization
    with 35 stores on the Florida peninsula.
    Your local store is now part of the nation’s largest company-owned and operated automotive service chain—with more than 1,000 locations in 25 states.

    Windscreen Gold Coast

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  11. All windscreen repairs are designed to stop the damage from cracking further and regain as much of the original strength of your windscreen before the damage occurred.
    Your damage is subject to harsh road conditions and containments before being repaired such as rain and road grime which can effect optical clarity



    Windscreen Replacement Gold Coast

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