Spotting Auto Glass Installation Shortcuts During Windshield Replacement

By: Chris Lontok

Even when driving only on paved highways a vehicle’s windshield can still get damaged by flying debris such as fragments of rocks, stones and pebbles. These fly at a tangent when run over by other vehicles driving by. This is why windshield replacement is often needed. There is rampant cheating in this industry, though, with many service providers doing shortcuts during the windshield replacement process. With such improper windshield replacement, the vehicle does not have the protection it needs on the road. The safety of the driver and passengers are compromised along with those of others on the road.

As soon as the windshield gets damaged, the vehicle owner should immediately take it for windshield repair. Certain types of damage to the car glass, however, can no longer be remedied by windshield repair. Windshield replacement has to be resorted to in such cases. If the vehicle owner can not bring the vehicle to the windshield replacement shop, mobile windshield replacement is available and can be done at the client’s home, office or any other location.

Proper windshield replacement uses only original equipment manufactured car glass like Pilkington if not dealer glass. Original equipment manufactured car glass is less expensive than dealer car glass but is totally comparable in all other respects.

In the proper windshield replacement process, the old windshield and the old molding are both completely removed and disposed of. The lower windshield cowl panel is then removed and put aside. The adhesive bed is scoured to remove the old urethane adhesive, leaving behind not more than 1/16th of an inch. The windshield channel is primed again to ensure rust prevention. New adhesive is then laid down and the new car glass is installed with completely new molding. The lower windshield cowl panel is restored. The vehicle is then kept on stand by until the proper drying and curing time required by the urethane adhesive has been observed.

One of the shortcuts in the auto glass installation process during windshield replacement is called “flush cutting.” The old windshield molding is not discarded. Instead, the exposed portion is carefully sliced off and then later glued on to the newly installed car glass. It therefore only acts as a decoy without actually serving any function. Without real molding the new windshield is not properly held in place and may vibrate, loosen and leak.

The second shortcut is called “close cutting.” The old urethane adhesive is not removed at all. A scant amount of new adhesive is just placed over it. The bonding of the new car glass to the windshield channel is therefore very weak.

A third shortcut is called “jumping the cowl.” The lower windshield cowl panel is not removed at all. Because of this, there is no way to ensure that the new car glass is positioned completely flush to the windshield channel.

All vehicle owners should be aware of these shortcuts so as to be able to monitor the windshield replacement process properly. Only in this way can they truly ensure that dishonest service providers and technicians do not get away with cheating.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/auto_and_trucks/article_4158.shtml