Whether using your car for work and domestic travel, or it’s mostly only for short journeys around town, it’s easy to sustain damage to the windshield or front side windows.

Something as minor as a small stone on the road can be kicked up by the tires and hit the windshield.
Another vehicle speeding past can kick up enough grit for it to impact the side windows too. Either of these events can cause a chip or a small crack in the glass.

If this has recently happened to you, what should you do about it and how long should you wait?

Minor to Major Windshield Damage

There is a fine line between a small dent in the windshield and something that quickly grows to become far more serious. While a windshield crack can spread, determining how long this will take is anyone’s guess.

It’s fair to say that when there are several visible hairline cracks in the windshield, this is likely past the point where a replacement windshield is called for.

Auto Glass Repair

Cracks in the windshield that are more than three inches long indicate that an auto glass repair is required to replace the windshield.

For a small circular chip that hasn’t turned into a crack as yet, it may only slowly expand from that point. However, once the glass has been damaged in this way, its structural integrity is no longer whole and will likely worsen with time.

At the very least, monitoring it daily would be called for. But, essentially, this is putting off the inevitable; the windshield will need to come out at some point.

Do Polyurethane Adhesives Work?

Some drivers consider using Gorilla Glue or Superglue to insert into a chip or crack to stop it from widening or spreading.

Is this a good idea?

In theory, it can help to keep the glass together. However, when driving at high speeds on a highway, the force of the wind will likely remove much of the glue. Therefore, it might be a temporary help until getting to a high-quality auto glass workshop, but not more than that.

However, if you have a repairer in mind, try getting them on the phone to ask if you should use adhesive before driving to their address? They may ask to see a digital photo of the damage to make a quick visual assessment. Doing this is useful to avoid making their repair job harder.

Tinted Glass 101

Tinting the windshield or the front or rear side windows offers additional privacy. Mostly this applies to the passengers and less to the driver.

Be careful if you’re thinking about adding tinting to existing windows. Each state has lawsabout this. Therefore, if you travel for work or pleasure between multiple states, it’s important to verify what’s legal in all these localities to avoid running afoul of various state laws. Usually, these laws specify the maximum tint level permitted and which glass may be tinted too.

Hopefully, our article has provided some useful information for people with auto glass issues or those who are mulling over whether to get their existing glass tinted.