Repairing cracks and chips on the windshield - the best tools and methods

Car owners often get such a problem as a crack on the windshield. Most often, the appearance of a defect is noted after hitting a pebble at high speed or due to a sharp temperature difference. In some cases, you can repair a crack with your own hands using available means.

Content:

• Why eliminate chips and cracks?
• Types of damage
• What cracks can I ride with?
• DIY Repair Kits
• Glassprofi
• Windshield repair kit
• Done Deal DD6584
• Permatex
• WIEDERKRAFT WDK 65182
• DIY cracks on the windshield with your own hands
• Preparatory stage
• Necessary materials and tools
• Crack repair process
• In which case can repair be done?
• Do it yourself or in a car service repair - what to choose?

Why eliminate chips and cracks?

Repairing a car that has a crack on the windshield is a must for safe driving and the absence of problems from the traffic police. In addition to the unpresentable appearance, driving a car with broken glass threatens other troubles:

1. The presence of a crack of a large size or with a specific location poses a risk to the life of the driver and passengers. If the cleavage is deep, a pebble can fly through it at full speed, which will result in personal injury. In addition, poor visibility on the road can even cause a serious accident.
2. If there are large cracks, the car will not be able to pass inspection. Since the defect is capable of causing injury, it is impossible to obtain a mark on the passage of inspection until it is eliminated. According to GOST R 51709 - 2001, machines with any cracks in the wiper area and on the driver's side are not allowed for operation. Riding on such a technique is fraught with a fine.
3. Any crack over time can become longer, wider, deeper. This will lead to the need for a complete replacement of the glass or its costly repair in the workshop. Also, a car with damaged glass immediately loses its market value, and it will be much more difficult to sell it.

Types of damage

The cause of cracks can be a stone hit, as well as a small accident. All defects in shape and features can be divided into five types:

1. Beam-shaped. Formed from a strong blow. Usually they are long, go to the edge of the windshield. Removal is possible if the crack size does not exceed 10–12 cm.
2. Rounded. The cause of the appearance is a sharp blow with a solid object. Such defects should be removed as soon as possible with preliminary drilling, otherwise they will spread to large areas of glass.
3. Branching. They are formed upon impact with a heavy object or due to a temperature difference. They represent a whole scattering of branching rays, therefore they are difficult to repair.
4. Bilateral. They look like a beam that appears from the saloon of the triplex. Most often, the car owner has to change the glass, since such defects are almost impossible to seal.
5. Mixed (combined). Include elements of different types of cracks. Their incorporation is far from always possible.

How to stop the crack propagation depends on its type. Usually at home simple defects, chips and small chippings are successfully repaired.

What cracks can I ride with?

Without problems, you can move around on a car that has small cracks or chips on the windshield. According to GOST, they should not exceed 15.7 cm and not have an uncomfortable location for the driver. Nevertheless, any chipping from temperature extremes or severe frost, as well as shock, vibration, water ingress will expand, so it is better to remove it immediately.

DIY Repair Kits

In car dealerships, a large number of adhesives and ready-made kits for windshield restoration are presented.

Glassprofi

The kit includes a blade, an adhesive disc, polymer glue, a locking suction cup, and a syringe. Using a disk and a suction cup, the syringe is securely attached to the crack area, after which glue is squeezed out of it. After 3-4 hours, the defect will become invisible, and the composition will completely harden. Using this tool, cracks up to 3 cm long are easily removed.

Windshield repair kit

This kit includes the same devices as the previous one, but is additionally equipped with a protective film. It helps eliminate defects on ordinary and tinted windows. When introduced, the adhesive completely displaces the air from the crack, so the hole will be sealed securely. This kit is recommended for emergency repairs, since the glue hardens after 20 minutes.

Done Deal DD6584

The polymer composition included in this repair kit has a very high strength, which is almost several times higher than that of cheap analogues. The product contains acrylic acid, so you need to work with it in the air and only with gloves on. Glass restoration in summer should be carried out in the shade, and in winter - after pre-heating the damaged area.

Permatex

The tool included in the kit is recommended for removing deep chips, and can also be used for quick repairs in road conditions. Such a glue is not suitable for filling long cracks. The composition is able to damage the paint on the machine body, so the hood must be carefully closed before repair.

WIEDERKRAFT WDK 65182

The kit includes a set of repair plates, a scraper to clean the crack and remove excess glue, an injector, suction cups and glue. It is better to work with glue indoors - so it hardens much faster. In the summer, after applying the composition, you can expose the car to the sun to speed up the polymerization.

DIY cracks on the windshield with your own hands

Before work, you need to prepare all the necessary tools and supplies and thoroughly clean the glass. Restoration is carried out only at temperatures above +10 degrees, but without the use of heating devices near the machine, otherwise there is a risk of glass cracking. In a cold room, condensation can enter the crack, which will reduce the quality of the finished joint.

Preparatory stage

First, remove all dirt and dust from the crack and surrounding areas. Glass can be washed, dried and degreased, but blowing it with a pump gives an even better effect. This will allow you to remove even the smallest dust particles, which in the future will reduce the adhesion of the glue to the glass. The edges of the crack should be carefully sanded and wiped with a degreasing agent (acetone, alcohol).

Necessary materials and tools

If a ready-made kit for glass repair was purchased for work, it already has all the necessary devices, except for electric tools. With a self-complete set, the following are usually used:

1. Polymer glue. It is absolutely transparent, it looks like liquid glass. Under the influence of sunlight, the composition is cured and reliably fastens the edges of the chip. When buying glue, you need to pay attention to the polymerization time and buy one that is suitable in a particular situation.
2. UV lamp.It is usually used if glass repair is carried out in winter, although it will facilitate work in any case.
3. Drill with a glass drill. The device must have the function of adjusting the speed.
4. Scraper (scriber). Needed to remove dirt and debris from a crack.
5. Sharp knife. Useful for removing glue or dirt from hard to reach areas.
6. Personal protective equipment. For safe work it is worth using gloves, a respirator.
7. Injector-syringe made of metal, plastic with suction cup and stand. It is necessary for high-quality filling of the defect with glue.
8. Magnifier and flashlight. Useful for a detailed examination of the boundaries of the crack and assess the result of its liquidation.

Crack repair process

To begin with, they assess the extent of the restoration: examine the crack, determine its boundaries. Then they stop the growth of the defect and reduce the voltage in it: they drill a hole at a distance of 1-2 mm from the end. Drill glass with a drill at minimum speed and very carefully so as not to split it.

Further work is carried out in this way:

1. Fill the syringe with glue.
2. Using a suction cup and stand, the syringe is attached to the crack start site.
3. The adhesive composition is carefully fed directly into the defect, strictly controlling the supplied volume.
4. If a pump is available, blow a crack through it (with minimal pressure) so that the composition is evenly distributed even in the smallest gaps.
5. Remove the stand, wash it with glue.
6. Use a sharp tool to remove excess funds from the glass surface.
7. Dry the polymer composition with an ultraviolet lamp according to the instructions (the duration of the lamp is always indicated on the packaging of the adhesive).
8. If the lamp is not available, expose the car to direct sunlight, but the drying time will increase by about 3 times.

After the polymerization of the glue is completed, they start polishing using a special nozzle on a drill or by doing it manually. As a result, the surface will become perfectly smooth, get rid of bumps, bulges.

In which case can repair be done?

Is it possible to drive with a large crack if it is located outside the field of view of the road by the driver? Most likely, such a car will not pass inspection, and without repair the glass will become worthless in a short time. Complete replacement of the windshield will have to be done if:

• a significant piece flew out of the glass, or it completely cracked, fell apart;
• defects have significant dimensions - from 20 cm;
• there is a whole network of cracks, which departs from the main chip;
• damage passes through the edge of the glass, which violates its strength;
• there are chips in the heating zone - in the winter they still burst again;
• the damaged area is one third or more of the total glass area.

Do it yourself or in a car service repair - what to choose?

It is possible to repair cracks on the windshield independently, not in all cases. Here is a sample list of situations where you can try to deal with the problem yourself:

• there are glass processing skills and necessary tools, as well as suitable working conditions;
• there was a small or medium scratch, crack, chip, which did not spread over large areas of glass;
• it is possible to purchase a high-quality adhesive or a ready-made repair kit.

If you do glass restoration in the service, professionals will work on it, so the result, as a rule, will be better. All work will be completed in a minimum period of time, because the masters have powerful modern tools, lamps.

Nevertheless, the repair cost can range from 1000-1500 rubles per 1 centimeter of a crack, which ultimately results in a decent amount. Therefore, small defects are easier to fix with your own hands, at least in order to save.

Self-repairing the windshield allows you to reliably close the defect and make it 75–90% invisible. Good adhesives are now sold in any store, so you should acquire repair skills and not know the problems in the future.