How to Repair a Windshield
The tiniest pebble or piece of grit flicked up off the tire of a car in front of you can fly at high speed into your windshield and will most likely cause it to chip or, if you are really unlucky: crack.
In the winter this can spell big problems, even the tiniest chip, the car gets very cold at night, causing the glass to contract and when you start up the car and blast on the heaters it expands very quickly. This strangely is a technique used to strengthen glass but if an imperfection is present it causes it to get bigger, and very soon your chip can stretch out and become a crack and you will need a whole new windscreen.
If you have a fully comprehensive car insurance scheme then your solution for this is very simple. Autoglass offer a windshield repair service, which is free under most fully comprehensive car insurance policies. But, you need to catch the chip before it develops into a crack. The machine used by Autoglass basically injects a clear resin into the crack and compresses it with air pressure, forming a very smooth and unnoticeable seal on your windshield on many occasions you can't even tell that it has been done.
However, if you do not have insurance that covers this or they cannot repair it with the tool (which has a fixed nozzle and can only do certain sized holes), then you can try and repair it yourself.
Doing a simple Internet search you can find lots of windshield repair kits and there are a vast amount on auction sites like eBay, which are often worth an in-depth look. The prices range from about 100 GBP to around 2000 GBP depending on the type and quality of glass you are dealing with and the size of the crack, another good idea would be to search how-to sites to find tips and guides on actually repairing your windscreen and if you have an unusual or especially old model it's probably worth looking for a more detailed account.
A few good sites to consider are:
Rock Chip Kits: (USA) http://www.rockchipkits.com/.
eBay: (Worldwide) http://www.ebay.com
Windshield Doctor (USA) http://www.windshielddoctor.com/
Delta Kits (USA) http://www.deltakits.com/
Screen Care (UK) http://www.screencare.co.uk/
There is also quite a good tutorial video I found on metacafe.com which could come in handy:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/642354/windshield_replacement_kits/
But I warn you now: do not try this is you have any doubts with what you are doing, not only is it a waste of money paying for the kit, but if you ruin the entire glass panel its going to be fairly costly to replace.
If you windshield has developed a decent sized crack then I would very strongly advise that you contact a specialist, cracks over three inches are difficult to repair even for the most experienced of windshield technicians and many will turn you away or offer you a new pane of glass.
For me and you, repairing a chip in our windshield or a even a small crack should be fairly simple, but you will need a steady hand and a good understanding of the kit you are using to get a good clean and flat finish to ensure you do not compromise the glass, leaving patches and edges is not good, you are still leaving weaknesses in the glass.
But do not expect your windshield repair to be perfect, the chances are that you will see a slight difference in the glass but the key is to make it as un-noticeable as possible. If you can stop a crack from spreading across the windshield and obscuring the view of the driver you have the job done.
Small marks left after the job are common, but should be about the size of a pin head if you have done a good job, the view through the glass which you have treated may have a slight distortion to it, again, this is not a problem as long as it does not hinder the vision of the driver. It's a very good idea to practice on a worthless car before hand if you can.
