Before you begin trying to repair a windshield on your own, it is important to understand when a windshield is too damaged to repair yourself or needs to be completely replaced with a new one. In most cases if a chip or crack is less than 12 inches long you should be able to repair it yourself. If the crack or chip that has caused a crack to spread is between 12 and 24 inches, it can still usually be repaired but having a professional do it might give you better results and a longer lasting repair. Having a crack that is longer than 24 inches almost always means you will have to have the entire windshield replaced.
To repair small chips and cracks, you can purchase a DIY windshield repair kit. These kits generally come with a tool to remove glass, a resin that you inject into the chip or crack and a piece of film called curing film. The first step is to use the glass removal tool to carefully remove any chipped particles of glass from the crack or hole. The tool that comes with kits is often a small razor blade as you will need a tiny point to get into the chip to remove the very small pieces of glass that have come loose. Then you can clean the area with a glass cleaner and make sure it is completely dry before going on to the next step.
Most kits come with a suction cup device with a hole in the middle. Situate the tool so that the opening is just over the chip. If it is a crack you will need to start at one end and then keep moving the suction tool down the crack as you go. This tool is used to keep the injection site steady so that the resin goes exactly where you want it to go. There should also be a tube that you screw into the suction tool in which you will inject the resin. You can make sure it is in exactly the right place by looking at it from the other side of the windshield from the inside of your vehicle.
Once it is aligned properly you will drop or squeeze the resin into the tube and screw in the tube or plunger (whichever is supplied in the kit). This puts pressure on the glass to be sure the resin is getting into any microscopic cracks in order keep the glass fused together. After about 20 to 30 seconds you'll want to loosen the screw or plunger to allow any air bubbles to escape, then tighten and loosen again. Tighten it up one last time and then loosen and remove the suction device.
Lastly, you need to apply the curing film to the chip or crack you have just repaired. You can use a razor blade to smooth out any resin and add some tape to the edges of the film to keep it from flying off the windshield. After about 10 to 15 minutes you can remove the film and use the razor blade to scrape off any excess resin and wipe clean with window cleaner.
While it may seem dangerous to have any type of crack or chip in your windshield, they can usually be safely repaired. And keep in mind that replacing the windshield can cost anywhere from $250 to $1,000, while a repair kit costs about and a shop can repair crack for $20 to $70. Also keep in mind that if you attempt to fix a crack or chip yourself with a kit or other method and it doesn't come out just right, a professional windshield repair person will probably not be able to fix it. In these cases it is almost always necessary to replace the entire windshield.
So if you do not have experience repairing glass or feel that you might not do it correctly, it would probably be worth it to just take your car to an auto repair shop or hand car wash that offers windshield chip or crack repair.
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