Did you know that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) require auto glass adhesives to be strong enough to hold your car’s windshield in place under certain crash conditions?
By the time he died in 1941, American chemist Carleton Ellis had 753 patents to his name. In addition to inventing the first vegetable oil margarine, he invented a clear resin that made laminated auto glass possible.
National safety regulations required that auto glass provide minimum levels of safety. In 1966, all U.S. passenger cars were required to have laminated windshields that were three times stronger than the windshields of the early 1900s.
Many replacement glass used for car windshield and window replacement must go through a rigorous, five-point inspection, and audits in order to meet all safety and government regulations and standards.
One of the problems with a damaged windshield is that it doesn’t have the structural integrity it was meant to have. Since this could mean it won’t be able to withstand the pressure of the wind hitting it at high speeds, your safest option is to have it replaced as soon as you realize you have an issue.
Windshields, as their name implies, shield you from wind. But did you know they also support airbag function and protection from debris and the elements?
A windshield is made of two layers of glass with a layer of laminate between them to keep the glass from shattering when it breaks.
Do you have a particularly bad windshield crack that you can't repair right away? Try to avoid parking it in the sun or with the windows rolled all the way up. This will help stop pressure from building in the car.
Radical air pressure changes can sometimes cause stress cracks in windshields. While it’s not common, extreme wind pressures or shock waves from even a distant crash or explosion can produce sufficient force to create stress cracks.
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Your windshield is an important component of your car’s built-in safety features. Because of how it is manufactured, the windshield glass is designed to help support the roof to keep it from caving in.
A cracked windshield can be a major inconvenience in your already busy schedule. When you don’t have time to have your windshield replaced, it may be possible to have the crack repaired, saving you time and money in the process.
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During the 1960s and 1970s, many advancements came in the strength of laminated windshields and safety glass. In fact, the windshields introduced in 1966 were so strong that they could take three times the amount of force and impact from earlier windshields.
The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard for windshield retention requires that the windshield remain in place during a head on collision, and is intended to keep you and your passengers in the vehicle in case of a collision or rollover.
Your windshield is an important part of your car's design, and specially curved to fit your vehicle. That's why it's important to make sure you use an auto glass expert if it needs replacing. He or she can not only make sure the windshield is a perfect fit, but also that it's installed perfectly.
Using OEM (or original equipment manufacturer) auto glass ensures that the new windshield will fit perfectly on your car, eliminating the guesswork in windshield replacement.
Fun fact: Windshields were made out of normal glass until laminated shatterproof glass began to be used in the 1920’s.
Did you know that there are 13 to 14 million windshields replaced each year? This isn’t surprising, as on today’s highways, windshield damage due to flying rocks and other debris is fairly common.
When water gets inside a crack or chip on a window and temperatures fall below freezing, the water inside will expand and create a large crack. This keeps happening until the crack is too big to repair. This is why it’s important to fix chips and cracks right away and especially before cold weather sets in.
Much of today’s high-quality glass is produced in large sheets, using what’s known as the “float” method. Molten glass floats on a bed of molten tin, while pressurized nitrogen is used to polish the surface to crystalline translucence.
Around the 1920s, engineers began to use urethane glue to bond windshield glass to car frames. These windshields did not break into small shards when they shattered, rather, they broke into a pattern similar to a spider web.
Trying to keep your windshield and windows crystal clear? Be sure to clean your windows in a shady spot. The sun will dry out the chemicals too quickly, and they can leave a residue that could fog your vision.
Some days you’re the bug, some days you’re the windshield – replacing a windshield may be safer than replacing it unnecessarily – a repair doesn’t require new seals. Consult a professional for your situation.
If your car has a passenger airbag, additional glass strength is necessary to support the airbag deployment, which means we use a faster-acting glass adhesive.
Broken side windows of your vehicle can not only be a safety issue, but they can cause your car to be exposed to weather, damaging it further, and makes your car vulnerable to theft as well. Protect yourself and your car by repairing or replacing any broken windows!
Did you know that faulty windshields play a role in thousands of injuries and fatalities caused each year by drivers and passengers being thrown from a vehicle? If your windshield is damaged in any way, it’s important to have it repaired or replaced as soon as possible.
While deep scratches can be removed from auto windshields and side windows, this is a job for the pros. Why? It requires the use of a grinder and aggressive polishing compounds which can in inexperienced hands create distortions in the glass.
Does your vehicle have side airbags? The current Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards require adhesives used for windshield installation to be roughly six times more powerful than those used on cars without side airbags.
