Every single time that you are driving your automobile, small rocks and pebbles are being thrown against it. Sometimes these are flung up by your own wheels and at others, debris is thrown back by other vehicles zooming past. Many times, such road debris hits your windshield and leaves scratches and marks. If the pebbles or debris flung against your auto glass are slightly bigger or sharp, they could cause chips on your windshield. Timely windshield chip repair keeps your car's glass in usable condition for a longer time and prevents the damage from worsening until the windshield cracks.
DIY Chip Repair
It is not necessary for you to take your car down to a garage to have every chip repaired. The smaller ones can be handled right at home by you. There are any number of auto glass repair kits available in the market today and these typically come with detailed instructions on how you can carry out your windshield chip repair perfectly without professional help. In fact, minor chips that are smaller than 3- 4 inches across can be rectified so effectively that there is no sign of the damage left behind.
If you are using such a DIY kit, take the time to read through all of the instructions in detail well before you start the job. In many cases, simple things, such as, repairing the chip when your car is standing in the hot sun, may reduce its effectiveness. The heat makes the resin harden too quickly and this leaves a visible mark where you have used the DIY kit to repair a chip.
Timely Repair
A stitch in time definitely does save nine when it comes to windshield chip repair. Letting a small chip go uncared for, allows it to expand until it can turn into a fairly long crack. Remember that cracks take more time, more skill and also more money to fix when compared with chips. Sometimes the crack may simply be too big to be rectified effectively. If it falls right in your visibility zone, then you may need to have your entire windshield replaced so that your driving safety isn't compromised. Take the time to check for chips and similar damage to your windshield during your regular auto maintenance checks and rectify small chips immediately to avoid having to spend much more later.
When to Call in the Professionals
Although you can get small chips repaired on your own, it is also very important to know when you are out of your league. Call in the professionals when the chip is considerably large and it seems to be spreading. Damage control needs to be done quickly and effectively at this point to keep the chip from growing into a crack. A skilled technician will be able to patch up the chip and, in the process, ensure that it never spreads again.
A chip that is right over the driving area and obstructs your visibility is also one that you should leave to professionals if you have never carried out chip repair before. After all, this is not an area of the windshield that you want to try your windshield chip repair skills on for the very first time!
