Repairing or Restoring Old Glass: Tips for Homeowners

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How to Minimise Cracked Windscreen Damage

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A windscreen is designed to offer both protection and visibility for your vehicle, but it is also prone to cracks or damage. Stones and other debris can easily come in contact with your windscreen and cause a small chip that can later morph into a large crack that will require complete windscreen replacement. If you are looking to simply have your windscreen repaired without the need for replacement, there are steps that you can take to minimise the total amount of damage and keep the size of the chip from enlarging.

Dirt

It is important if you are going to drive with a chip in your windscreen before having it repaired that you protect it against dirt. Dirt has the ability to make the chip larger and can obstruct your view. Dirt also makes a windscreen chip more difficult to repair, but placing a piece of tape over the chip will prevent dirt from coming into contact with the small chip to the glass surface. As long as the tape does not obstruct your view when driving, you can leave the tape on the chip until you have the windscreen repaired.

Sun Exposure

When you are looking to minimise the damage of a crack in your windscreen, it is essential that you limit the amount of sun exposure. You should keep your windscreen out of direct sunlight when possible. This means that you should park your vehicle in a shady area or inside of a garage. Direct sunlight exposure will result in the production of heat, and this will expand the crack or chip in your windscreen. If you want to keep the crack from growing, you need to keep the windscreen out of the sun when possible.

Air Conditioning Use

Even though heat is not ideal for your cracked windscreen, exposure to cold is not much better. Any type of extreme temperature will cause the size of the crack or chip to grow. This means that you need to use caution when using the defroster or air conditioner within your vehicle. It is best to warm your car up gradually without blasting the defroster on high. Having the crack repaired faster will limit the amount of exposure to extreme temperatures that your cracked windscreen must deal with. This means that fixing the small crack in a timely manner is the best way to minimise the amount of damage and keep the chip from growing.

These tips can help prevent a crack from getting larger, but the best move is to contact a company that offers emergency glass repairs and get it repaired as soon as possible. 


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