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Windshield Repair

Whether it's a chip, ding, star break, bull's-eye, edge crack or any other kind of windshield fracture. The trained technicians at Smart Glass can probably fix it in about half an hour, depending on the degree of damage. Sometimes, you have no choice other than windshield replacement. Windshield repair, of course, is much less expensive, and Smart Glass can help you with the insurance benefits.

Don't Wait Until It's Too Late

Windshield repair is considerably less expensive than replacement. But if you wait too long, and the damage has time to spread, windshield repair will no longer be an option. Safety is an important issue too. A faulty windshield compromises the safety of you and your passengers. Its ability to withstand an impact is substantially weakened. In today's vehicles, windshields are an important component of the vehicle's overall structural integrity, so you don't want to put it off until tomorrow. A repaired windshield can save you money...and worry!

Click Here For Our Frequently Asked Questions About Windshield Repair

The History of

Windshield Repair

Ordinary window glass, like you have around the house, is pretty amazing stuff. It's clear, strong and cheap. But it's also brittle, shattering into long, dangerous, wickedly sharp shards when overstressed. Plastics would be as strong, but not nearly hard enough to resist scratching and remain clear enough for a car window–just look at any plastic-glazed outdoor bus stop or phone booth, with its patina of fine scratches. For the side windows of cars, automakers have come up with a good compromise: tempered glass. It's stronger than standard, but more importantly, when it does shatter it breaks up into small granules. These granules are still sharp, but should do less damage than the long shards of un-tempered glass. However, for a windshield, constantly bombarded by pebbles, tempered glass would have a short life span.

So, many years back, the car manufacturers switched to a laminated glass sandwich for the windshield. It's a simple process. Two thinner sheets of glass are fused to a PVB (polyvinyl butyral) inner layer. The tempered-glass outer layers are then independent of each other. The rubbery center sheet provides damping to any shock waves from errant stones, reducing the probability of breakage. And if the glass is hit by an object smartly enough, odds are that only the outer sheet will break, as is the case with most stone chips. If a really big piece of debris hits the glass hard enough to break both inner and outer layers, the tough membrane prevents it from winding up in your lap. Even better, the shards of glass from the inner lamination wind up stuck to the membrane, keeping them from spalling away from the windshield at a high velocity, causing great havoc.

What is Windshield Repair?

The windshield repair process officially began in 1972 with the introduction of the first equipment and chemicals that were specifically designed to repair impact damages on laminated windshields.

Since 1972, the development of more sophisticated tools and superior resins has enabled windshield repair to become an economically, environmentally and physically sound process which, when properly performed by a trained professional, can restore structural integrity and visual clarity to your windshield.

Windshield repair is a permanent process that removes air from the break and fills it with a curable, optically matched resin. Like human fingerprints, every windshield damage is unique. Often, repairs leave a mark no larger than a pencil point. Others, particularly those allowed to collect dirt and road debris, may be more visible. Professional repairmen use high quality equipment capable of removing air in the damaged area and replacing it with a high quality glass resin that will prevent further damage and improve the finished look of the repair. The process bonds the glass together, restores strength to the windshield, improves the break’s appearance and prevents the break from spreading.

As previously noted windshields and safety glass are made from a "sandwich" of plastic laminate between two layers of glass. An impact strong enough to damage the hard outer layer can cause an infinite variety of chips, cracks, crescents, stars, or combination breaks. Often, the imperfection is tiny at the surface and expands into the familiar bulls-eye shape as it spreads toward the center layer.

Goals of Windshield Repair

Stops damage from spreading. If left un-repaired, even the smallest rock chip or "ding" will increase in size until the entire windshield is compromised.

Prevent moisture infiltration into the PVB inner layer.

Improves the optical clarity in the damaged area by reducing the visible damage. When an object hits a windshield, some of the original glass is displaced and air is allowed to enter. Since air and glass have different densities, the human eye registers the difference in the form of a damaged or blurred area. Windshield repair restores clarity by evacuating air from the break and replacing it with resin. The resin is optically matched to the glass.

Restores structural integrity to the damaged glass. The modern windshield is an important part of the safety envelope designed into the vehicle's passenger compartment.

Creates a smooth surface to prevent interference with the windshield wipers.

Satisfy state safety inspection criteria.

Is environmentally friendly because it extends useful life of the glass. Most windshields are not recycled due to the high cost of separating the laminate from the glass and the low cost of glass making materials. About ten percent of our landfills are made up of glass.

Saves consumers money over windshield replacement. A windshield repair is typically about 10% or less of the cost of a new windshield. If you carry comprehensive your insurance company will probably waive your deductible and pay us directly for the repair.

Steps to Repair Windshield

The windshield is cleaned and visually inspected by the technician. Any loose glass is removed from the impact point. If necessary a small hole is drilled into the break to allow access for the resin.

A Bridge & Injector assembly is mounted over the break.

Using hydraulic pressure, a polymer resin is injected into the break where it cures and bonds the separated glass. A series of polishing and buffing steps restore the clarity and structural strength to the glass. The resins are optically matched to a refractive index of 1.51, matching that of glass and harden with a bond as strong as the original glass.

The resin is cured by ultra-violet light, restoring the original strength to the glass.

The impact point, or drill hole is filled with pit filler, and also cured. Any excess pit filler is removed, and the windshield is thoroughly cleaned.