A chip or crack in a windshield or auto glass can occur when a small piece of rock or other objects hit the surface of the glass with impact. Damage can also be caused by a pebble or other small objects that get kicked up by a tire on the highway. Sometimes the crack on the auto glass is minor and might not require immediate replacement of the windshield by the Auto Glass Broken Arrow auto garage. The impact on the windshield that is caused by fallen trees, baseballs, or limbs, is larger and requires immediate replacement. Such bigger objects can cause enough damage which requires immediate auto glass services.
Professionals understand that these chips and cracks in the auto glass might act as a hassle to the car owners. It is also understandable that car owners lead very busy life and might not be able to leave everything on the spot to get their windshield fixed. But they need to understand that some situations might make these cracks worse with time.
Things that can make cracks in windshield worse
One of the most irritating things about cars is the broken or cracked windshield. It is as much of an annoyance as it is a safety threat. Here are a few things that can make cracks in auto glass worse.
1. Sun exposure- The vehicle can be parked in the shade so that the crack doesn’t expand. If the car is parked in the sun, the auto glass that has a small chip can become worse due to the high temperature.
2. Moisture- Windshields are made using three layers of glass where two layers of glass have a single layer of vinyl in the middle. Because of the tiniest of the crack the water can seep in from the rain or a car wash. This water that seeps between the layers, gets trapped. Now the nature of the water is such that it hampers the structural integrity of the entire window which later becomes worse when this trapped water freezes. Since water expands when it freezes, the crack or chip on the windshield becomes worse.
3. Extreme Temperatures- During the summertime when temperatures become too hot, even a small chip in the auto glass can become too big. If the car owner keeps the temperature of the AC inside the car too low and the sun is very strong outside, it creates a contrasting temperature inside and outside the car. The contrasting temperatures inside and outside the car puts a lot of pressure on a car window which can become too much to bear after a point of time. The pressure that is formed due to such changing temperatures can cause these chips and cracks in auto glass to become worse.
4. Dirt- Just like moisture, dirt also gets trapped between the layers of the windshield. If a small piece of clear tape is placed over the crack, it can prevent pollen, dirt, and other small particles to come inside the glass, and hence the structural integrity of the glass is not affected. But if the process of repair is delayed for long periods of time, the glass might get damaged. The repair of auto glass from Broken Arrow service provider will then cause huge bucks.
5. Bumpy roads- In case the windshield is already cracked, the car owner should avoid hitting bumpy roads. Any kind of vibration like forcefully closing the car door, slamming on the brakes, or driving over speed bumps, can make a damaged auto glass worse. The cracks expand due to the vibrations caused by such activities which might not be fixed using repair techniques. If the crack expands further, the auto glass needs to be replaced.
To conclude
Professional Auto Glass Broken Arrow service providers have affiliations with major insurance companies which helps the car owners to get their windshield replacement costs covered under the insurance policy. Many years ago, a damaged windshield meant a full replacement but nowadays the technology has become so advanced that small cracks can be fixed using repair techniques. In the modern-age, the auto garages have the right know-how to restore windshields. The old automobile’s auto glass can be easily patched up and returned to new condition only if the crack is still small enough. If the crack becomes bigger due to any of the above-mentioned factors, the car owner will have to get the glass replaced. So, in a nutshell, it can be said that no crack should be allowed to become bigger. The car owner should immediately get in touch with the best auto garage in Broken Arrow when he comes across even a small chip on the auto glass, so that necessary precautions and repair procedures can be done immediately.
