The purpose of repairing your windscreen is to restore its safety properties to their original condition and to prevent small chips or crack from growing beyond the size where they can be repaired in which case the entire windscreen will need to be replaced.

Windscreen repairs can only be carried out on laminated safety screens such as the front windscreen. The windscreen is composed of two layers of glass with a PVB (Polyvinyl butyral) membrane layer in between. The membrane functions as a protective layer that holds the screen in place in the event of an accident, preventing it from shattering and injuring the driver and other passengers in the vehicle.

Cracks up to 12 cm in length and chips up to the size of a €2 coin on the outer side of the screen can be repaired using a specialized windscreen repair system. Any lose particles of glass are removed and a special bonding resin is applied through a pressure piston, removing any trapped air. It is cured with UV radiation. A correctly carried out repair is a permanent solution and restores the original safety properties of the windscreen.

Any repairs should be carried out as soon as the damage occurs. This is important because:

• it avoids small cracks or chips to spread beyond the size where the windscreen can be repaired, making replacement unavoidable.
• it avoids dust and other particles getting into the damage. These are impossible to remove and compromise the quality of the repair that can be achieved
• it avoids damp from permeating the damage. Any water inside the damage is very difficult to remove and prevents the resin from filling and repairing the damage. The only efficient way of removing it is to allow it to evaporate in the sun for a day or two, further delaying any repair. This is why it is also important NOT to clean the screen (especially not with water or windscreen wipers) before the repair is carried out

If possible, we advise you use a small piece of transparent tape to cover the damage as soon as it occurs, thus preventing any dust or dampness getting into the crack/chip before it is repaired.

Types of damage that CANNOT be repaired:

• any damage that extends to both sheets of the laminated glass
• any damage where the radius of the centre of crater is larger than 5 mm
• any crack that extends beyond 12 cm
• any damage on the inner layer of glass
• any damage to the PVB membrane layer of the glass (delamination, particles etc.)

For further information please call Trikkis Autoglass on 77777 099.