Rock Chip Repair

A small stone thrown off a truck on a highway, an errant trolley at a supermarket, or a violent neighborhood, can all lead to only one thing - a gaping hole in your car windshield! Your first thought upon seeing the ugly spidery chip would be to run to the nearest auto parts shop and get a car windshield replacement job done. But wait a minute! Did you know that by going for a repair instead of a replacement, you can save you at least a few hundred dollars? According to professional auto glass repairers, about 75% of windshield damages can be repaired. Thus, before you consider replacing the entire glass, you ought to give replacement work a try. However, first you need to find out if your car windshield is a candidate for rock chip repair.

Requirements

The first requirement for rock chip repair is that the crack must not be in the direct line of sight of the driver. Since repair work is bound to leave a mark behind, it might be risky if it gets in between the driver's range of visibility. Also, holes are best to repair than cracks that run across the windshield. Cracks that spider out are most difficult to repair. The crack tends to gather dust and debris over time, which may not give satisfactory results after repair. Also, the temperature fluctuations induce further cracking of the glass. Thus, if you want to achieve desired results, you should get the job done as early as possible. Until then, keep the crack covered with a clear tape, so as to prevent it from gathering debris.

Repair Procedure

You can do a repair job yourself, with the help of repair kits available at auto shops. A repair kit contains a syringe and an adhesive compound. All you have to do is follow the repair instructions that come with the kit. However, our advice would be to get the job done from a professional repair person. If you do it yourself and end up with a messy job, you will probably have to replace the windshield glass. Hence, it is always better to rely on professional help. The repair person first cleans the glass with acetone or glass cleaner. Then he vacuums the chip, so as to get rid of glass shards and other debris. A resin that is optically compatible with glass is then injected inside the crack. The resin is sealed dry with the help of ultraviolet light. The repair work is mostly satisfactory and prevents the glass from cracking further from the point of impact.

Cost

If you decide to buy a kit and do the job yourself, you will probably have to bear the cost of the kit only. The syringe comes for about $8, whereas the resin compound will cost you about $17. Getting a repair job done from a professional will cost you about $60 for the first rock chip and then $20 for every additional rock chip on the windshield. If you have multiple rock chips or if you have had a repair work done before, it is better to opt for replacement rather than repair work. Although, rock chip repair cost is mostly covered by your auto insurance, you might not want to go for it, as you would unnecessarily increase your claims. If you have more number of claims (irrespective of the amount of claim), your insurers might take you for a risky client and increase your interest rates. You definitely wouldn't want to spend a few hundred dollars extra per year for a mere $100 job!

You should always expect practical results from a rock chip repair. The result of a repair job can never be as good as a replacement job. But as long as the chip is sealed securely and does not mar the beauty of your car, you should be happy.