Ask an Expert
Posted by Glass Doctors
Use this page to ask sensible questions about windscreen repair, some may be placed into an FAQ on this page.
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August 9th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
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December 15th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
I over took a gritter the other day and grit went on my windscreen and left a lot of tiny little chips….is it possible to get rid of them ?
December 18th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
The passenger side only of my windscreen got a pattern of small scratches from a small sheet of metal blowing in the wind – can it be repaired ?
January 14th, 2009 at 11:33 am
when metal strikes glass it can leave metallic deposits on the surface which can be polished off acceptably, however if it has caused deep abrasions it may not be so easy to polish out
January 14th, 2009 at 11:57 am
In response to Jonathan’s GRITTER DAMAGE
If there are just a few pits it may be possible to fill them. The diameter of the drill used to prepare the pits is about 1mm so it it not really practical to repair damage below this limit as it will be made worse by the drill bit. However over about 20 pits and it becomes less cost effective due to the time needed. You need to ensure that the damage you are now noticing is really caused by the gritter and not just normal pitting that occurs in the course of driving that you have just noticed for the first time, as most pople look THROUGH the windscreen and never actually look AT it until an object strikes it.
February 4th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Hi,
I have a wiper scratch running nearly the full wiper sweep of the window. Can this be repaired so it will pass the MOT ?
February 23rd, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Hi there,
I own a 2005 Clio 182 which has a heat reflective windscreen. I recently picked up a wiper scratch and wondered whether this type of screen could be repaired?
Many thanks,
Matt
March 5th, 2009 at 11:35 am
Hi…
Are you able to repair the very, very fine scratches that you get on car windscreens, created by the normal action of the wipers? Mine is badly affected across the whole of the swept area, particularly after this winter. A couple of times I had frozen washer jets, so the wipers spent 10 seconds grinding the dry salt into my windscreen. The result is that visibility is severely compromised whenever the sun is against it – I get horrible “flare”. Are you able to re-polish the whole windscreen to reduce this problem?
March 23rd, 2009 at 10:52 pm
In reply to David Williams, the general wear and tear scratching is not normally a good candidate for scratch polishing as other damage like pitting also present on the screen can attract the polish into it making the screen look like it has measles. The area of damage also is typically the whole of the of the wiper sweep rather than a small easily treated area.
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:09 pm
In response to the two WIPER SCRATCH damage queries:
Some wiper arc damage can be done but it will depend on the depth of the arc which will in turn be dependant on how long the wiper has been scratching over the screen. If you look carefully at the arc you will normally see a series of tiny parallel scratches like the tracks of a record (or CD if you dont know what a record is) each of these tiny arcs will be of varying depths and some may polish out but the deeper ones will most likely remain. Some improvement can be obtained by just polishing over the arc but depending on the length of the arc, that can be a lengthy job which is not always cost effective for the customer as a polish will normally be from £60 to £120. The result can be that the wiper arc is dulled from an obviuos “chalk mark” type of look which is obvious from some distance to something which is still evident on the screen but is not such an obvious distraction. A single stone caught under the wiper and then quickly flicked out is often the most effective type of damage to restore and we have had some excellent results on these types of damage, (mostly on BMWs for some reason) Normally if a wiper arc is bad enough to catch the eye of the MOT tester it is going to be REALLY bad as this is one of the few areas of the MOT test that is down to the judgement of the tester. Multiple arcs from the same blade also denote severe scratching which is not normally treatable as each arc would have to be polished separately and therefore be too time consuming.
April 2nd, 2009 at 4:17 pm
i own a Renault Clio 1.2 and there is fine scratches on the offside of the windscreen that look as if they were done by a scouring pad just surface and approx 8”x 3”any idea how much to repair
April 4th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
provided they are relatively shallow about £80 plus VAT however if they are directly in the drivers vision area great care must be taken not to remove too much glass which could disort the glass. Check to see if the depth of the scratches is even or whether there are any that are deep and crusty looking as these ones will be deeper and unlikely to be removed without risk of distortion.
April 20th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
i have recently had another glass repairer out to look at a chip in my windscreen and they have made it bigger causing a crack is there anything you could do to prevent me from having this crack made bigger or even a new windscreen?
May 7th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
It may be possible to redo another bad windscreen chip repair depending on how bad they have made it…
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:29 pm
I have a chip caused by a stone thrown up on a motorway last Sunday. It is at the top of the sweep of the windscreen wiper in front of the driver’s side. The chip has slightly chipped the windscreen and caused a cross shaped crack just marginally bigger than a pound coin. I consulted the MOT station who said it will fail the MOT. Do you think it is repairable. It doesn’t obstruct the drivers view but it is 5 inches from the windscreen edge.
June 9th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Duncan, it sounds repairable just, however it will depend on any contamination as you do not say how long it has been there. A good quality repair is essential in that position though and it must be “barely visible” to pass the MOT.
January 15th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
My windscreen has six small defects, all within the ‘repairable size’ for the zone they are in. Two have small cracks around them, the others appear to be ‘clean’ at the moment. The insurance company sent someone around to have a look, and they said they would not repair more than two (it appears this is the insurer’s policy moreso than the windscreen company’s, and is down to cost). My windscreen excess is £70. Would you be able to fix this for cheaper than a replacement?
June 13th, 2011 at 9:18 pm
Hi Michael
Our pricing policy means that each additional chip on the same screen is done of for only £10 and your insurance company will probably reimburse you for that in ful but make sure you are not with a cheapskate direct company that only reimburses you £40
July 17th, 2011 at 8:41 pm
I have two chips about 1 cm apart about 10 cm from the rear view mirror/rain sensor on the windscreen, and about 7.5 cm from the top edge. I have been advised that as they are within 10 cm of each other that they cannot be repaired and that I need a new windscreen. Both are less than the size of a £1.00 coin. In your opinion are they correct, and should this have been picked up on a MOT? Thanks
August 27th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
A flying stone hit the bonnet of my new car and struck the windscreen approximately 4 inches from the bottom of the centre of the screen. The crack is roughly 4mm in length. The insurer says it is too small to repair and not sufficiently damaged to be replaced? The dealer disagrees and says it will spread with future temperature changes. I would be grateful for your help.
September 16th, 2011 at 8:39 am
I have noticed that around the edge of my windscreen where its fitted to the seal it has gone white in quite a few parts – particularly in the corners – another company has looked at the windscreen and his words were “your windscreens shot you need a new one” – is thsi the case – the windscreen has been like this for over a year now and i havent had any problems with it?
Thanks
September 16th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
Hi Lisa
Thanks for an interesting question that quite common on some cars,
What you are experiencing is the type of twaddle that screen companies normally say to get you to buy a new screen when you dont actually need one. What you are complaining of is called oxidation where the laminate layer of PVB is reacting with the water that usually sits under the rubber and turns it white, hence it is normally at the bottom corners where water is likely to sit. If it is just a white colour then that is only a cosmetic issue and it would be better to keep the original screen rather than risk a new one if you can bear the annoyance, however if the oxidation is combined with bubbles which extend into fingers then that is delamination which is the breaking down of the bond between the laminate layers and it is this which gives the screen its impact strength and so it must not be allowed to continue into a large patch as this is a weakening of the structure of the screen. maybe send us a pic of it so we can advise further and also tell us the car and age of the screen.
September 16th, 2011 at 1:05 pm
Hi Robert
this can be repaired despite what your insurer says, you were probably speaking to the windscreen company without knowing it when you called them, we would be happy to repair this for you.
September 16th, 2011 at 1:08 pm
Hi David
another example of the lies told to get you to replace your screen, the damage you describe CAN be repaired so do not lose faith! The MOt aspect depend on WHERE they are on the screen