 | Richard Smith has been in the Auto Body Industry for 26 years. He is ASE Certified Master Collision Tech, an I-Car Platinum Tech, and an I-Car Instructor. He and His wife own and operate Sharp's Auto Body & Collision Inc. located at 202 North Elm St. in Pittsburg, Kansas. He is a father of 5 children, Ex Military E-6 Staff SGT. and is active in his home Church. The one thing he enjoys doing is educating the public about the safety and proper repair of automobiles, no matter if it is a vehicle that has been in a collision, a small dent, or a complete restoration. The shop is always equipped with a skilled professional to handle your auto needs. |
Automotive Service & Repair
2012-06-05 09:24:38
Hail damage on windshields
Q: I have a repair or replace question. I have a car that, until now, was a second car that I rarely needed. It sustained some significant hail damage to the windshield in several places. There are four pits of various depths, and one hit that caused a crack in the upper driver’s side corner about 7 inches long that runs from edge to edge. I am wondering if I should replace the windshield or repair it.
A: Normally when hail damages a windshield it leaves a circular crack where the hail hit the windshield. Hail generally does not chip the windshield on the outside; however it may leave a chip on the inside due to force. Often times people don’t pay much attention to their windshield until after a storm, that’s when they start noticing all the rock & gravel chips in their windshield, thinking that hail caused it.
As you have noticed on your windshield, there are several different types of chips.
These are common everyday road hazard rock chips:
•Bulls-eye-
Most often as a result of a hit by rocks and gravel and identifiable by the impact point and circular mark it creates. Reparable if smaller than one inch diameter.
•Star chip -
A chip with a series of “legs” emanating from the impact point. Repairable if smaller than three inches.
•Combination chip-
May have long legs emanating from a bulls-eye. Repairable if it does not exceed 2 inches.
•Surface pit-
A small nick in the glass that does not penetrate to the thin plastic layer. Repairable if damaged area has a diameter of not less than 1/8 inch.
Here are the type of cracks:
•Short crack-
A crack six inches or less
•Long crack-
A crack longer than six inches
•Edge crack-
A crack that extends to the edge of the windshield
•Floater crack-
A crack that does not extend to the edge of the windshield
•Stress cracks-
A crack that extends from an edge and does not have an impact point.
All roads have gravel, debri, & rocks on them, whether paved or gravel roads. Pieces of rubber, rocks, salt, and more can all cause these. What can be fixed? The best thing to do is take it to a shop and see if it can be repaired. If it is obstructing the drivers’ vision, more than likely it is in a non-repair area. A lot of insurance companies will cover to have a rock chip repaired right after it happens. Some will repair without a deductible, all depending on your policy coverage.
