When a Cracked Windshield Needs Repair or Replacement

It happens most of the time that you are driving your car and suddenly a small rock fall on the windshield of your car, which make a little crack or chip. Sometimes you leave this crack as it is and some time this crack increase in size so larger that you need to replace the whole shield with new one. You can decide when a windshield needs repair or replacement with new one through some important ways. First important rule, which determine the nature of treatment of crack or chip that in which condition repair is possible and in which condition there is need of complete replacement and this, is size of crack or chip. Chips or crack of these shields which are less than 12 inches are able to repair while cracks or chips in-between 12 to 20 inches need repair from any professional and well experienced person. While any crack or chip, which is, more than 24 inches is not repairable and there would be replacement of the whole windshield with new one. If these crack or chip, which is long or circular in the form of rings and less than quarter, can be repair by yourself or by any professional, skilled, trained and experience technician in this field.

However, professional companies in this field will deny repairing any crack or chipping which is in front of driver vision because repair process leaves some distortions in the glass, which can cause accidents. Therefore, in these cases it is much better for you that you replace it with new one. Tow other but most important factors are there as well which are also helpful in deciding that which windshield need to be replaced and which is still repairable. These two factors are location and time of cracks or chips. If a crack is on the edge of shield then it need replacement of whole shield because edges of shield are thin and brittle. If a crack or chip form at the top most part of the shield where it look dark due to which you will be unable to realize that a crack or chip is emerging there. If this crack reaches up to two inches at the edge of windshield, it will disturb structural integrity of shield due to which replacement will become necessary in this condition even if you repair these cracks.

If there are two small cracks of shield but they are very close or intersecting then you need replacement of whole shield in this condition as well. Now second factor is time of that crack that how much it is in the windshield. If a crack is small and not increasing in size and it is more than 30 days old then professional technicians will not repair it and will ask you to change the whole shield. Reason behind this is that as much as longer time a crack would be there would be more dirt particles in the cracks and chips, which will create disturbance or distortion in the process of repair.