Workshop Basics
How to make glass damage invisible and stop it spreading
How to repair a chipped or cracked windscreen for just £8.
Alaminated windscreen is made of a layer of clear plastic sandwiched between two sheets of plain glass. It’s vulnerable to stone-chips, but the damage is usually limited to small starshaped cracks or more visible ‘bullseyes’.
It’s wise to treat damage as swiftly as possible with a resin bonding compound. The top sheet of glass is often pierced and the ingress of damp can make the plastic interlayer become opaque around the affected area. The refractive index of the resin is similar to that of the glass, so the damage will no longer catch the light. It will make chips almost invisible and make cracks far less obvious.
Windscreen repair kits are available from mainstream motor factors and online, costing between £5 and £15 depending on the brand. Our mid-priced branded kit contained everything required, including a razor blade to scrape the repair area.
We’re often asked about polishing out windscreen scratches. After experimenting at length, we found that progress was slow to non-existent. Also, despite carefully staying inches away from a stone-chip, the modest heat of polishing caused it to suddenly expand into a six-inch crack. The lightest abrasions can be removed with a lot of care and patience, but anything that can be felt with a fingernail is widely considered to be beyond fixing.
A conventional screen ‘floats’ in its seal. The bonded screens found in modern classics flex with the body, which may limit the success of a repair. The resin may still help to stop cracks spreading, through.