Chipped windscreens should not be ignored. What is visible to the naked eye is in fact a collection of multiple fissures in the glass. A particularly bad bump may in fact cause the chipped area to crack and radiate outward dramatically, to the point where the damage is marginal, to now being a borderline cause for windscreen replacement.

Related Pages

Windscreen Sealing
Windshield Repair
Cleaning Windscreens
Windscreen Removal and Replacement

Since a chipped windscreen could develop into a crack any time, it's important to repair a windscreen chip as soon as possible. Repairing the damage immediately will prevent residue and minute debris from permanently degrading the windshield, where the resin might fail to adhere properly because of dirt. Windscreen repair kits are available online for a very low price and these kits come with everything you will need to do the job yourself. If the chipped area is not too large, many of these kits can be used more than once. Repairing a chipped windscreen can be done in about half an hour, after which the vehicle will be ready to drive. Basically, windscreen repair kits contain a special resin which you apply to the windshield. This resin reacts to ultraviolet light which means that it will dry by itself in normal light conditions. Professional repairers use a special UV light to cure the resin but DIY kits are specially formulated to work in normal sunlight.

Repairing a chipped windscreen is not hard to do and if you follow the kit’s instructions, you may be able to perform a successful patch job yourself. Just remember that preparation is a very important job of any repair and do your best to clean the chipped area of dirt and debris. Note that the resin may only restore up to 90% of windshield transparency at best, so if the damage is directly in the line of sight of the driver’s vision, it is best to have the windshield replaced.

Several kinds of damage can be repaired. Bulls-eyes, cracks, star breaks or any combination thereof is repairable without the need to remove the windshield or window glass. One should not expect the restoration of 100% clarity in the repaired area of the glass. An 80-90 percent restoration is considered a successful repair. With most successful repairs, a slight blemish or imperfection where the impact occurred is normal. Windshield glass repairs save money because you do not have to replace the glass. Plus, there is no risk of a leak developing in the seal because the factory installation is maintained. If you are doing the repair yourself, just make sure that the damage is still repairable before you go out and buy a kit.