When you go to an auto shop with a chip or crack in your windscreen, you might expect them to tell you it is easy to repair. Instead, however, they might say to you it needs replacement, and you wonder why. The size of the damage is what dictates if your windscreen can be repaired or replaced.

What Determines This?

1. Size and depth of the damage

Cracks of around three inches and chips one-inch in diameter are repairable. If the cracks and chips are more significant than this, the windscreen will have to be replaced. However, some technological development enables the repair of larger cracks and chips. It all depends on your technician.

2. Type of damage

There are different types of cracks that one will come across. Some are repairable, and others are not. Some of the curable types include WSStar Break, Bulls-Eye, Crack Chip, Ding or Pit. Also, repairing multiple cracks and chips is difficult.

3. Location

Where is the crack located on the windscreen? Does it cause obscure vision? Crack repairs leave behind mistiness, discolouration and unevenness. If it will reduce the driver’s visibility, the windscreen is better off replaced. Cracks or chips located at the edge of the windshield are likely to endanger the passenger if repaired.

When Can’t Windscreens be Repaired?

• If the crack or chip repair will affect the driver’s visibility or endanger the passenger
• If the windscreen has multiple cracks or chips
• When the size of the chip is more than one-inch diameter, and cracks are more than three inches long
• The type of crack that windscreen has
• When the glass is tempered
• If the crack or chip penetrates more than halfway the windscreen
• If the crack or chip extends to the outside edge of the windscreen

If you have a chip or crack in your windscreen, call the team at Novus. We are the best windscreen repairers around, and we’re mobile, so we can come to you wherever you are. Visit our website or contact us for more information.