window chip

arcticreaver

i'm pretty pissed right now. although i know there are window chips, i never had one in my previous car. but today, while washing the car i found 2 window chips. anything i can do?

SoCal 370Z

You can have them fixed professionally at most places that replace windshields; some will even come to you.

Here's a DIY: Window Chip Repair

You can also consider this, BUT read all the caveats before you do so: ClearPlex

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Why I NEVER say NO to the Panda Lou Fusz!!!

epod86

It can depend, a lot. if it's a small chip, a repair guy is just going to epoxy fill it and polish it out. It will have some distortion right at that spot if you look at it at the right angle, and the color/shade might be a little off. If you live in a cool climate (around freezing), or a hot climate with the AC full blast (but not likely in this situation), the temperature difference will eventually make the crack grow due to differential expansion/contraction and you will have to replace or deal with a cross windshield crack. This method really only works when the chip is less than half the thickness of the windshield, as there is enough glass to take the strain (hopefully). Really though, it's just a ticking time bomb.

The next level is to drill out the crack to relieve the pressure. This won't crack as easily, since the hole provides a relief point during expansion/contraction. If you've ever seen a beat up drum set, you'll find holes drilled in the cymbals at the ends of cracks, in this case to relieve the vibration, but same basic idea. They then fill the hole with epoxy like before, same distortion and all, but hopefully no cracking in cold weather. The problem is, no autoglass or similar guy will do this because there is a good chance he'll crack/break the windshield anyway during the drilling. We have a guy at a gas station in a VW van who does this, but he does it with no guarantee that he won't break the glass, but doesn't charge you if he does.

The final, obvious choice is replacing the windshield. Eventually, in all likelihood, you will have to do this anyway. In SoCal though, at least you won't have to worry so much about temp differentials propagating the crack. My family has had to replace two windshields in two cars in two years in Colorado. Cold weather, grit, and long 3 hour highway mountain drive to the airport suck for windshields.

arcticreaver

let me see if i can take a pic with my crap camera.

epod86

Make sure it's as high res and in focus as possible

arcticreaver

omg, clear bra for windows lol. awesome.

i'm going to head up amplified in a couple of hours. i'm going to bring my camera. trying to see what i want to get for my ride. maybe they have this sort of thing there? long shot but since they deal with cars, maybe you have or know somewhere i can get that thing done.

bringing a friend along with me that knows car so i don't sound like a complete idiot when i'm there. hopefully lou is there.

i think this one is probably the best pic of the chip. actually 2 chips. f me.



jesus look at all that hair and dust??!!!!!!

epod86

Pretty had to know without seeing it in person, you need a couple of angles to get an idea of the depth with all the image refraction. But that looks pretty superficial so a fill and polish should be enough, plus there doesn't appear to be any clear spider cracks radiating from the chip which is a good sign. Keep it in that balmy weather down south and out of subzero and you should be fine. But get it filled/fixed as quick as possible because the epoxy will take strain off the chip and adsorb any vibrations that could start to propagate the crack.

arcticreaver

thanks for the tips. +rep coming your way!

epod86

No problem. Between the masses of knowledge I seem to store (I never seem to forget useless factoids and trivia) from my dad and a section on crack propagation in one of my Uni classes, I know WAAAAAAYY to much on cracks. You want to talk crazy crack sh*t, try figuring out crack and de-lam propagation in carbon fiber

Edit: Random: I notice you're 'blind' like some of us. I never use to to a lot of night driving, but recently I've noticed that I can't drive at night with glasses, I have to be wearing contacts, because every light source halo's and flares like crazy. Ever notice the problem or do my glasses need a really good cleaning?

arcticreaver

yes, me blind. been blind since the 5th grade. but my blindness is about 225 degrees and it hasn't gone up since when i was 18. i can see the road fine at night. you just have to invest in those anti-reflect glasses. i forget what i have. the glasses you see me wearing are like 6 years old.

epod86

That's me to a T. Started in 5th, couldn't see colors on a whiteboard. Thought I had the coating, could be swirled though, I don't take very good care of my glasses cause I'm a contact person 90+% of the time.

Cheers.

arcticreaver

i wash my glasses one time a week. because my lenses are actually plastic and contaminate easily.