Protecting Your Windscreen; What You Need to Know

The front windscreen is the most sensitive glass on your car and also the screen with the most stringent security specifications and optical requirements based on European standards. It needs to protect the driver, provide an uninhibited optical transparency that allows safe driving conditions. Chips, cracks and scratches on your windscreen need to be repaired immediately in order not to compromise in any way the safety of the drivers and passengers.

All modern cars are fitted with laminated windscreens and most cars have tempered or toughened side glass and rear glass. The most obvious difference between laminated and tempered glass is the way they break. Tempered glass shatters while laminated glass cracks but, thanks to its PVB layer, remains in place. This also allows for laminated glass to be repaired (depending on the damage).

When repairs are possible, it is essential that these are carried out as soon as possible after the damage occurs. This is because the damage is very likely to spread and can soon become beyond repair, making replacement unavoidable.

Scratches on your windscreen can cause light to refract resulting in an optical distortion or loss of clarity both of which can affect safe driving. Only on rare occasions can scratches be polished out of the surface of the glass screen because any polishing usually causes further optical distortion that compromises safety. On such occasions glass replacement is advised.

Scratched on your windscreen are something you can avoid with a little attention.

Most scratches we see on windscreens are caused by windscreen wipers. For this reason we advise you pay attention to the condition of your windscreen wiper blades to make sure they are not damaged in any way and that you do not have the metal part of the wiper scratch your glass. Also when you lift your wipers to clean your windscreen, take care when lowering them again, making sure they do not hit the glass and cause damage.

Also take care when cleaning your screen with your hand not to scratch it with rings, bracelets, buttons or any other hard objects you might be wearing.

For further information please call Trikkis Autoglass on 77777 099