5 Common Windshield Rock Chip Blunders
Keeping your vehicle front windshield in good condition is of critical value. The big ideas is that a damaged windscreen is potentially life threatening. Therefore, utilizing a professional for this type of service just makes sense. Read on further to see some of typical mistakes some make with broken or chipped glass on their cars and trucks.
1. Overlooking Small Rock Chips
A lot of people will ignore a tiny crack or chip in their front windshield. This is not wise. Why? The longer the existing damage is not addressed, the higher the chance of it spreading becomes. And once it spreads, you no longer have the opportunity to do a windshield repair, leaving you with the more, and sometimes MUCH more costly option of replacing the entire piece of glass.
So, you might consider taking your automobile to an expert in order to get the chip repaired as quickly as possible. Paraphrasing an old commercial, “You can either pay now or pay later. But later is ALWAYS more.”
2. Attempting To Repair It Yourself
If you are not an expert, do not attempt to act like one. It probably won’t end well for you. Glass specialists can discover the degree of the damage and then suggest the best course of action for you to take. They have the training, tools and experience to make this problem disappear.
And about those DIY kits you see in the store or online…they remind me of a saying my parents used to tell me as a kid: “If you can’t say anything nice…”
3. Utilizing YouTube
You can utilize online videos sites like YouTube or Vimeo for guides and tutorials. However, they are not enough to assist you fix or change your car’s windshield without making expensive errors. While the guides or videos may make it look like a walk in the park, repairing a damaged glass the wrong way can be a expensive affair. Plus, there is always the chance and injury could occur.
4. Not Allowing Enough time to the Curing Process
Another typical error is that wanna be mechanics tend to be a little bit impatient to drive their automobiles after the windshield repair work or replacement. In the case of replacements, it is much better to await the recommended number of hours as adhesives need some time to cure. Depending on the product, the car should not move from anywhere from 1 to 6 hours.
It is crucial to understand a damaged windscreen is not simple to fix. Qualified technicians utilize their experience and the proper tools plus determining if the surrounding conditions will allow for a proper installation.
5. Not Hiring A Professional
Long story short, if you have a damaged windscreen, we recommend that you employ the services of a specialist. All you require to do is call your local expert or contact them through their website for a quote or to set up an appointment.
Have you been trying to find an car glass repair work specialist? In the case of small rock chips, we recommend that you get in touch with us right away. If you need to have a windshield or some other glass piece replaced, we do not perform this type of service. But, we can point you in the right direction, if you wish.
Is Avoiding Auto Glass Repair Possible?
There aren’t many circumstances more aggravating than driving down the roadway and having some random debris shoot up and damage your windscreen. While this is at first annoying, eventually this could turn into a dangerous situation. There are a number of ways your windshield can be cracked and understanding the various causes will assist you in dealing with this scenario.
Common Causes Of Auto Glass Repair
- Rock, Gravel and Other Debris. The most common. When traveling through an area under construction (The I-5 in San Clemente comes to mind), tires from cars in front of you can throw this stuff at your windscreen. When traveling at the high rate of speed we tend to do here in southern Cal, even small rocks or gravel can chip your glass.
- The Sun. A damaged windshield left out in the direct sunlight can cause a windshield to split. Just by sitting there. Especially during the summer months here. As the glass heats, it also expands. And this can be made worse by the use of those sun shielding dashboard protectors. While they do a good job of protecting the dash of the car, they end up making the front windshield even hotter.
- Changes In Temperature. On days where there is a big difference between high and low temperature, this can also cause the small chip or crack on your windshield to expand. Glass has some amazing properties, one of them being flexibility. It has the ability to expand or contract depending on whether the temperature surrounding the glass rises or falls. However, if the glass has a flaw, this flaw will be exploited if there are rapid temperature changes. This is the main reason why you see disclaimers at car washes saying they’re not responsible for cracks getting worse when running your car through their car wash.
- Lousy Installation. An improperly installed windshield can undergo a stress crack. These are cracks that occur when nothing hits the windshield but is the result of something not done properly during a windshield replacement. Some common causes are improper placements (too high or low and too far to one side) or poor cleaning and preparation of the pinch weld.
- Acts Of God. These can include hail (not too common around here), wind, gardeners or baseballs.
Auto Glass Repair – Avoiding Replacement
Avoid the construction areas, the busier streets and freeways when possible. More cars and more debris equals greater chance of incurring auto glass repairs, even those of the small rock chip variety.
Driving slower also lowers the chance your glass will become damaged when coming into contact with rocks and gravel.
Parking indoors or in the shade helps keep your windshield cooler during our warm summer months. And don’t take to a car wash if you have a chipped windshield. Get the windshield repaired BEFORE taking it to the car wash.
Auto glass repairs are best done as soon as the damaged is noticed. This is especially true of the newer vehicles equipped with lane departure warning and/or forward collision alert systems. The cost of replacing these windshields routinely exceeds $1000. Don’t wait. Ge that chip or crack filled immediately.
Windshield Crack Repair In Laguna Niguel
We’d like to say “Thank You“ to our customer Cynthia C over on Yelp for her kind words and for choosing us to repair the rock chip on her windshield. We really appreciate customers like you. Thanks again.
Link to original review on Yelp can be found HERE
Windshield Repair In Rancho Santa Margarita
When we receive comments like this, we are truly humbled. Thank you Stephanie for putting your experience with First Choice out there for everyone to see and we really appreciate you choosing our company for your rock chip repair needs.
Link to original review on Google can be found HERE
Hours Of Operation
| Monday | 8AM-5PM |
| Tuesday | 8AM-5PM |
| Wednesday | 8AM-5PM |
| Thursday | 8AM-5PM |
| Friday | 8AM-5PM |
| Saturday | 8AM-1PM |
| Sunday | Closed |