Glass repair

Glass repair helps you to quickly get rid of small chips in the glass without letting it develop into major glass damage.

Sometimes it seems as if chips are formed on the windshield by themselves. Then there are the cases when a small stone smashes into the windshield, which can be really frightening, and the resulting glass damage leaves you frustrated. Although these chips may not bother you at first, specialists still recommend that you go to a workshop to have them repaired.

If the windshield of the vehicle is chipped, it doesn’t always need to be replaced – sometimes, it can be repaired instead. Glass repair helps you to quickly get rid of small chips in the glass without letting it develop into major glass damage.

If your windshield was hit by a stone:

• clean the area of the chip on the glass;
• put a sticker on it, as humidity and dirt make repairs harder;
• contact a glass partner recommended by PZU at soon as possible.

• Why repair chips in glass?

  Repairing the windshield is more environmentally friendly than replacing it. Repairs only take up to 30 minutes. Comprehensive insurance clients don’t have to pay a deductible for having chips in glass repaired, i.e. it’s free of charge, and it doesn’t affect the insurance premium.

  A small chip in the windshield that is left unrepaired may develop into a major crack. It’s possible to repair chips up to 2 cm in size and after the repair the glass is as strong as before.

  Advantages of chip repairs:

  Safety – an unrepaired chip can quickly develop into a crack. A cracked glass doesn’t guarantee the safety of the people in the vehicle. A repaired windscreen is just as strong as it was before the damage. As glass is also a part of the vehicle’s bodywork and an essential part of the functioning of safety equipment (such as airbags), then glass with an unrepaired chip is a safety risk. It affects the stiffness of the glass.

  Speed – the glass repair process takes just 30-60 minutes (or longer if you haven’t made an appointment) compared to the three hours it takes to replace a windscreen. Repairs are carried out immediately and there is no need to make a separate appointment.

  Think green – you protect and help to maintain nature. Compared to windscreen replacement, there are almost no waste products! It’s considerably more environmentally friendly than replacing glass – in an unambiguous, measurable and perceptible way. The amount of waste generated by repairing a chip is three grams, whilst the amount of waste generated by glass replacement is 13-14 kg or more.

• Why do I need to act immediately when a chip occurs?

  In 90% of cases, the question isn’t whether the chip will crack, but when it will crack.

  • The sooner you act, the more likely it is that the chips can be repaired and the glass will not need to be replaced.
  • The sooner you act, the more likely it is that the crack is repaired before it cracks.
  • If moisture gets into the crack, it can freeze in the cold, deepening the crack and the glass needs replacing.

• Why do tensions occur at the joint of the body and the windscreen?

  Temperature – temperatures are particularly significant in winter, especially the effects of cold and frost. Heating/defrosting of frozen glass. The rapid flow of hot air against cold glass and the temperature difference causes cracking. Additional pressure is also applied to the glass when it’s cleaned with a scraper, which also contributes to cracking.

  The different expansion/shrinkage of metal and glass as materials due to temperature changes creates tension in the glass and makes chips develop into cracks. Cold causes the metal to shrink differently from glass and the tensions in the bodywork are transferred to the glued glass. Undamaged or repaired glass will not crack, but the weakest point in chipped glass will give way and the chip will start cracking. The effect of heat is very similar to cold, but in an inverse way, i.e. if cold air from the air conditioner is applied to hot glass, it causes ‘shocks’ to the material in glass and it cracks.

  Potholes and speed bumps cause micro distortions in the bodywork and as glass is a part of the bodywork (glued glass guarantees a considerable part of the bodywork’s rigidity) designed to keep the bodywork rigid, these distortions (tensions) eventually get to the glass as well. If the glass is damaged, the weakest link in the chain, i.e. the chipped glass, will give way.

  Parking with one wheel (or one side) on the kerbstone causes tension (distortion) in the bodywork, which transfers to the glass, and if it’s chipped, a crack may develop there by the morning.

  In almost 90% of cases where glass had to be replaced, the crack started as a chip. Unrepaired chips develop into cracks. It’s just a question of time.