Windscreen Chips – How Big is Too Big?

<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">While windshields are made of toughened glass&comma; it is not uncommon for them to become chipped or damaged&comma; especially if you drive in the countryside frequently&period; Some chips can occur through plain bad luck too&period; Perhaps you were driving down the motorway and some debris was kicked up by the vehicle in front of you&comma; for example&period; Some small chips to the windshield can be ignored&comma; especially if they are not in a place that would affect your ability to see clearly&period; However&comma; if the chip is big or it interferes with your field of view then you are obliged to have it repaired&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Small chips and cracks can usually be repaired&comma; but how easy it is to do so will depend on the size&comma; length&comma; and depth of the damage as well as the location of the crack&period; The age of the windshield and how badly contaminated the site of the crack is can also make a difference to how well it can be repaired&period; In some cases&comma; it may make more sense to source a complete <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;contentrally&period;com&sol;windscreen-replacements&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">windscreen replacement<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>How Big is Too Big&quest;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">The old rule of thumb was that if a chip was bigger than one inch in diameter or a crack was more than three inches long you should not try to repair it&period; There are&comma; however&comma; some more <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;instructables&period;com&sol;id&sol;How-To-Repair-Your-Windshied&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">modern repair techniques<&sol;a> which make it possible to repair bigger cracks and chips&period; Smaller &&num;8216&semi;star-shaped&&num;8217&semi; cracks where there are several fine cracks coming off a central broken point are usually fairly easy to repair&comma; since the repair equipment can be centred over the most damaged point&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Longer cracks are more complex to work with and if there are multiple cracks spread over a larger area then this can be a problem as well&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">It is important to note that even high-quality repairs are not perfect and that they may leave a slightly cloudy or misty appearance on the glass&period; This means that if you have a long crack in the driver&&num;8217&semi;s main field of vision you may want to replace the windshield because even the repaired glass might impair the driver&&num;8217&semi;s view&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Cracks that are very long &lpar;over 18 inches&rpar; should not be repaired because they may have weakened the glass too much&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>When to Replace Your Windshield<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">If the crack is hidden partly by the window frame so the technician cannot fully see it&comma; then they may not be able to repair it properly&period; Cracks that started on the inside of the windshield are harder to work with than ones that started on the outside too&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">In addition&comma; if the crack is over a sensor or antenna&comma; or it has become contaminated with a lot of dirt&comma; then this may hamper the repair process&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">If you have a damaged windshield&comma; get it looked at as quickly as possible so that the technicians have a chance to work on it before the crack gets dirty or gets bigger&period; If the crack is obscuring your vision&comma; do not try to drive&comma; ask a windshield repair company like <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;windscreenreplacements&period;com&period;au&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">Sunshine Coast Windscreens<&sol;a> to come to you&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;