Replacing auto glass
Installing yourwindshieldis not as hard as it may seem in other articles, any part of a car or repair is simple if broken down and looked at as one system or device. There are things that should be looked into and taken into account, such as your glass is part of your structural system on your car meaning that along with your frame, roof, and rails it's what hold your car together.
When looking at glass and ordering it (depending on what type and year car you have) there are two types you will come across, and they are tempered and laminated. Back before the advances in technology around 1900's when they were installing plain glass into the windshields of cars, they quickly came to change after seeing how dangerous they were after a collision. Now and days all you will find in cars are laminated and tempered for safety reason.
Laminated glass is basically used for the windshield and tempered on all the sides of the car. Laminated is exactly how it sounds laminated! It's glass covered in a film so that in a wreck the glass will crack but not scatter, and tempered by heat so that it will burst into very very small pieces. When it comes tempered you will mostly find them on the side of vehicles so that in a collision when the driver is stuck in the car they can be easily broken to escape.
Now it is time to install your glass. First, if you are removing the old glass you need to purchase a windshield remover tool, which is fairly cheap, and cut the adhesive around the inside of the windshield after removing the trim. It's also easier if you heat the adhesive. After the windshield is removed cut the old adhesive, making sure to leave a thin strip for the new stuff to adhere to, and if you hit bare metal its o.k just dab pinch weld primer on the bare metal spot.
When fitting the new windshield it's best to use tape. You apply tape on the windshield of the car onto the body, and cut the tape with a razor after you have gotten the position. Then apply a uniform bead of adhesive around the windshield frame of the body and install the windshield making sure that your tape marks align (never pick the windshield up to move it because of air pockets, to move just slide into position). You can then hold windshield in place with more tape give 24 hours to dry or follow adhesive instructions.
