DIY Windshield Repair VS Windshield Replacement

We've all had it happen; a truck kicks up a stone or a construction vehicle drops a loose rock sending it full speed directly for your windshield leaving a star or bull's-eye crack in your previously perfect glass. Now you have three options. One, you can decline to do anything about the new damage to your vehicle, two, you can use a DIY Glass Repair Kit, or three, you can spend a lot of time, money, and aggravation to replace the entire windshield.

First, the last thing you want to do is nothing. If left unaddressed what was once a small crack can spread and become a real safety issue. Very often bullseye damage will 'spider' across the rest of your windshield rendering it unsafe and becoming an obstruction to the drivers view. This is more common on cars that experience extreme temperature changes, such as rinsing your car with very cold water on a hot summer day; this stresses the glass and can cause the damage to spread.

So what is it that you should do to fix the damage? If you have one of the more common types of damage, and chances are you do, a glass repair kit can be a real life saver and a money saver too! Damage is typically round or star shaped and may even have a black or silver color to it. Mostly you'll hear cracks referred to as bulls eye, combination, half bulls eyes, beeswing, or star fractures. These types of cracks can easily be fixed with a glass repair kit. How does DIY Glass Repair Work? Well the best kind of kit is one that puts no pressure on the surface of the glass. Not all kits work this way so be sure to look into how the product works before investing. Even small cracks are fragile; you don't want to press on something that's already fractured, you'll definitely regret it. Avoid any kit that uses screw threats, suction cups or complicated bridge assemblies. What you want to do is get a kit that will use a vacuum system to draw all the air out of the damaged area allowing the resin to easily flow into the crack and fill the damaged area entirely.

Your only alternative to this is to replace the entire windshield. Now this is a very costly and time consuming option so only do it if you absolutely must. A new windshield wont come cheap, it can cost as much as $300, and in some cases more. It will be time consuming and you will be without your vehicle for a few days, and very often once the new windshield is set, the vehicle can't be driven for a day or two.
On side note, choosing to replace your windshield when you don't necessarily have to wont just cost YOU money, it also takes a toll on the environment. Approximately 11-12 million windshields are replaced a year in the US alone. As much as 39% of those windshields have a simple crack that could be easily fixed with a repair kit.

So when that stone comes flying down the highway and lands right in the middle of your windshield, be sure to wisely choose your course of action. Save yourself the aggravation and simply repair it yourself. Just make sure you get yourself the right kit!